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Sample records for cubic phase gel

  1. Transdermal delivery of paeonol using cubic gel and microemulsion gel

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, Maofu; Shen, Qi; Chen, Jinjin

    2011-01-01

    Background The aim of this study was to develop new systems for transdermal delivery of paeonol, in particular microemulsion gel and cubic gel formulations. Methods Various microemulsion vehicles were prepared using isopropyl myristate as an oil phase, polyoxyethylated castor oil (Cremophor® EL) as a surfactant, and polyethylene glycol 400 as a cosurfactant. In the optimum microemulsion gel formulation, carbomer 940 was selected as the gel matrix, and consisted of 1% paeonol, 4% isopropyl myristate, 28% Cremophor EL/polyethylene glycol 400 (1:1), and 67% water. The cubic gel was prepared containing 3% paeonol, 30% water, and 67% glyceryl monooleate. Results A skin permeability test using excised rat skins indicated that both the cubic gel and microemulsion gel formulations had higher permeability than did the paeonol solution. An in vivo pharmacokinetic study done in rats showed that the relative bioavailability of the cubic gel and microemulsion gel was enhanced by about 1.51-fold and 1.28-fold, respectively, compared with orally administered paeonol suspension. Conclusion Both the cubic gel and microemulsion gel formulations are promising delivery systems to enhance the skin permeability of paeonol, in particular the cubic gel. PMID:21904450

  2. Tetragonal-cubic phase boundary in nanocrystalline ZrO2-Y2O3 solid solutions synthesized by gel-combustion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fabregas, Ismael O.; Craievich, Aldo F.; Fantini, Marcia C.A.; Millen, Ricardo P.; Temperini, Marcia L.A.; Lamas, Diego G.

    2011-01-01

    Research highlights: → Gel-combustion synthesis yields compositionally homogeneous, single-phased ZrO 2 -Y 2 O 3 nanopowders, that exhibit the presence at room temperature of three different phases depending on Y 2 O 3 content, namely two tetragonal forms (t' and t'') and the cubic phase. → Phase identification can be achieved by synchrotron XPD (SXPD) and Raman spectroscopy since the tetragonal forms and the cubic phase can be distinguished by these techniques. → The crystallographic features of ZrO 2 -Y 2 O 3 nanopowders were determined by SXPD. They are similar to those reported by Yashima and coworkers for compositionally homogeneous materials containing larger (micro)crystals. However, the lattice parameters are slightly different and the axial ratios c/a of our t' samples are smaller than those reported by these authors. → Compositional t'/t'' and t''/cubic phase boundaries are located at (9 ± 1) and (10.5 ± 0.5) mol% Y 2 O 3 , respectively. → For the whole series of nanocrystalline ZrO 2 -Y 2 O 3 solid solutions studied in the present work, no evidences of the presence of a mixture of phases - as reported by Yashima and coworkers for microcrystalline solid solutions - were detected. - Abstract: By means of synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction (SXPD) and Raman spectroscopy, we have detected, in a series of nanocrystalline and compositionally homogeneous ZrO 2 -Y 2 O 3 solid solutions, the presence at room temperature of three different phases depending on Y 2 O 3 content, namely two tetragonal forms and the cubic phase. The studied materials, with average crystallite sizes within the range 7-10 nm, were synthesized by a nitrate-citrate gel-combustion process. The crystal structure of these phases was also investigated by SXPD. The results presented here indicate that the studied nanocrystalline ZrO 2 -Y 2 O 3 solid solutions exhibit the same phases reported in the literature for compositionally homogeneous materials containing larger (micro

  3. Tetragonal-cubic phase boundary in nanocrystalline ZrO{sub 2}-Y{sub 2}O{sub 3} solid solutions synthesized by gel-combustion

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fabregas, Ismael O. [CINSO (Centro de Investigaciones en Solidos), CITEFA-CONICET, J.B. de La Salle 4397, 1603 Villa Martelli, Pcia. de Buenos Aires (Argentina); Craievich, Aldo F.; Fantini, Marcia C.A. [Instituto de Fisica, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Travessa R da Rua do Matao, No. 187, Cidade Universitaria, 05508-900 Sao Paulo (Brazil); Millen, Ricardo P.; Temperini, Marcia L.A. [Instituto de Quimica, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Avenida Prof. Lineu Prestes 748, Cidade Universitaria, 05508-900 Sao Paulo (Brazil); Lamas, Diego G., E-mail: dlamas@uncoma.edu.ar [CINSO (Centro de Investigaciones en Solidos), CITEFA-CONICET, J.B. de La Salle 4397, 1603 Villa Martelli, Pcia. de Buenos Aires (Argentina); Laboratorio de Caracterizacion de Materiales, Facultad de Ingenieria, Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Buenos Aires 1400, (8300) Neuquen Capital, Prov. de Neuquen (Argentina)

    2011-04-21

    Research highlights: > Gel-combustion synthesis yields compositionally homogeneous, single-phased ZrO{sub 2}-Y{sub 2}O{sub 3} nanopowders, that exhibit the presence at room temperature of three different phases depending on Y{sub 2}O{sub 3} content, namely two tetragonal forms (t' and t'') and the cubic phase. > Phase identification can be achieved by synchrotron XPD (SXPD) and Raman spectroscopy since the tetragonal forms and the cubic phase can be distinguished by these techniques. > The crystallographic features of ZrO{sub 2}-Y{sub 2}O{sub 3} nanopowders were determined by SXPD. They are similar to those reported by Yashima and coworkers for compositionally homogeneous materials containing larger (micro)crystals. However, the lattice parameters are slightly different and the axial ratios c/a of our t' samples are smaller than those reported by these authors. > Compositional t'/t'' and t''/cubic phase boundaries are located at (9 {+-} 1) and (10.5 {+-} 0.5) mol% Y{sub 2}O{sub 3}, respectively. > For the whole series of nanocrystalline ZrO{sub 2}-Y{sub 2}O{sub 3} solid solutions studied in the present work, no evidences of the presence of a mixture of phases - as reported by Yashima and coworkers for microcrystalline solid solutions - were detected. - Abstract: By means of synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction (SXPD) and Raman spectroscopy, we have detected, in a series of nanocrystalline and compositionally homogeneous ZrO{sub 2}-Y{sub 2}O{sub 3} solid solutions, the presence at room temperature of three different phases depending on Y{sub 2}O{sub 3} content, namely two tetragonal forms and the cubic phase. The studied materials, with average crystallite sizes within the range 7-10 nm, were synthesized by a nitrate-citrate gel-combustion process. The crystal structure of these phases was also investigated by SXPD. The results presented here indicate that the studied nanocrystalline ZrO{sub 2}-Y{sub 2}O{sub 3} solid

  4. Effect of shear on cubic phases in gels of a diblock copolymer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hamley, I.W.; Pople, J.A.; Fairclough, J.P.A.

    1998-01-01

    The effect of shear on the orientation of cubic micellar phases formed by a poly(oxyethylene)poly(oxybutylene) diblock copolymer in aqueous solution has been investigated using small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) and small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). SAXS was performed on samples oriented in...

  5. Nano- and microsized cubic gel particles from cyclodextrin metal-organic frameworks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Furukawa, Yuki; Ishiwata, Takumi; Sugikawa, Kouta; Kokado, Kenta; Sada, Kazuki

    2012-10-15

    Sweet cube o' mine: Bottom-up control of gel particles has been regarded as a great challenge. By employing internal cross-linking of cyclodextrin metal-organic frameworks, cubic sugar gels were formed with sharp edges that reflect the shape of the crystals. This enabled the fabrication of shape- and size-controlled polymer gels from porous crystals (see picture). Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  6. Diamond cubic phase of monoolein and water as an amphiphilic matrix for electrophoresis of oligonucleotides.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carlsson, Nils; Winge, Ann-Sofie; Engström, Sven; Akerman, Björn

    2005-10-06

    We used a cubic liquid crystal formed by the nonionic monoglyceride monoolein and water as a porous matrix for the electrophoresis of oligonucleotides. The diamond cubic phase is thermodynamically stable when in contact with a water-rich phase, which we exploit to run the electrophoresis in the useful submarine mode. Oligonucleotides are separated according to size and secondary structure by migration through the space-filling aqueous nanometer pores of the regular liquid crystal, but the comparatively slow migration means the cubic phase will not be a replacement for the conventional DNA gels. However, our demonstration that the cubic phase can be used in submarine electrophoresis opens up the possibility for a new matrix for electrophoresis of amphiphilic molecules. From this perspective, the results on the oligonucleotides show that water-soluble particles of nanometer size, typical for the hydrophilic parts of membrane-bound proteins, may be a useful separation motif. A charged contamination in the commercial sample of monoolein, most likely oleic acid that arises from its hydrolysis, restricts useful buffer conditions to a pH below 5.6.

  7. Phase transformation of metastable cubic γ-phase in U-Mo alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sinha, V.P.; Hegde, P.V.; Prasad, G.J.; Dey, G.K.; Kamath, H.S.

    2010-01-01

    Over the past decade considerable efforts have been put by many fuel designers to develop low enriched uranium (LEU 235 ) base U-Mo alloy as a potential fuel for core conversion of existing research and test reactors which are running on high enriched uranium (HEU > 85%U 235 ) fuel and also for the upcoming new reactors. U-Mo alloy with minimum 8 wt% molybdenum shows excellent metastability with cubic γ-phase in cast condition. However, it is important to characterize the decomposition behaviour of metastable cubic γ-uranium in its equilibrium products for in reactor fuel performance point of view. The present paper describes the phase transformation behaviour of cubic γ-uranium phase in U-Mo alloys with three different molybdenum compositions (i.e. 8 wt%, 9 wt% and 10 wt%). U-Mo alloys were prepared in an induction melting furnace and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) method for phase determination. Microstructures were developed for samples in as cast condition. The alloys were hot rolled in cubic γ-phase to break the cast structure and then they were aged at 500 o C for 68 h and 240 h, so that metastable cubic γ-uranium will undergo eutectoid decomposition to form equilibrium phases of orthorhombic α-uranium and body centered tetragonal U 2 Mo intermetallic compound. U-Mo alloy samples with different ageing history were then characterized by XRD for phase and development of microstructure.

  8. Electrostatic Effects in Phase Transitions of Biomembranes between Cubic Phases and Lamellar Liquid-Crystalline (Lα) phase

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masum, Shah Md.; Li, Shu Jie; Tamba, Yukihiro; Yamashita, Yuko; Yamazaki, Masahito

    2004-04-01

    Elucidation of the mechanisms of transitions between cubic phase and liquid-crystalline (Lα) phase, and between different IPMS cubic phases, are essential for understanding of dynamics of biomembranes and topological transformation of lipid membranes. Recently, we found that electrostatic interactions due to surface charges of lipid membranes induce transition between cubic phase and Lα phase, and between different IPMS cubic phases. As electrostatic interactions increase, the most stable phase of a monoolein (MO) membrane changes: Q224 ⇒ Q229 ⇒ Lα. We also found that a de novo designed peptide partitioning into electrically neutral lipid membrane changed the phase stability of the MO membranes. As peptide-1 concentration increased, the most stable phase of a MO membrane changes: Q224 ⇒ Q229 ⇒Lα. In both cases, the increase in the electrostatic repulsive interaction greatly reduced the absolute value of spontaneous curvature of the MO monolayer membrane. We also investigated factors such as poly (L-lysine) and osmotic stress to control structure and phase stability of DOPA/MO membranes. Based on these results, we discuss the mechanism of the effect of electrostatic interactions on the stability of cubic phase.

  9. Non-spherical micelles in an oil-in-water cubic phase

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Leaver, M.; Rajagopalan, V.; Ulf, O.

    2000-01-01

    phase, both with and without SDS, was established by NMR self-diffusion. In addition H-2 NMR relaxation experiments have demonstrated that the micelles in the cubic phase are non-spherical, having grown and changed shape upon formation of the cubic phase from the micellar solution. Small angle...... associated with the micellar cubic phase, Pm3n and Fd3m. The micellar volumes calculated for these space groups are similar and are consistent with a change in micellar geometry from spherical to prolate.......The cubic phase formed between the microemulsion and hexagonal phases of the ternary pentaethylene glycol dodecyl ether (C12E5)-decane-water system and that doped with small amounts of sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) have been investigated. The presence of discrete oil-swollen micelles in the cubic...

  10. Interaction of dispersed cubic phases with blood components

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bode, J C; Kuntsche, Judith; Funari, S S

    2013-01-01

    The interaction of aqueous nanoparticle dispersions, e.g. based on monoolein/poloxamer 407, with blood components is an important topic concerning especially the parenteral way of administration. Therefore, the influence of human and porcine plasma on dispersed cubic phases was investigated. Part...... activity of cubic phases based on monoolein and poloxamer 188, on soy phosphatidylcholine, glycerol dioleate and polysorbate 80 or the parenteral fat emulsion Lipofundin MCT 20%....

  11. Identification of the hydrate gel phases present in phosphate-modified calcium aluminate binders

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chavda, Mehul A.; Bernal, Susan A. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield S1 3JD (United Kingdom); Apperley, David C. [Solid-State NMR Group, Department of Chemistry, Durham University, Durham DH1 3LE (United Kingdom); Kinoshita, Hajime [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield S1 3JD (United Kingdom); Provis, John L., E-mail: j.provis@sheffield.ac.uk [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield S1 3JD (United Kingdom)

    2015-04-15

    The conversion of hexagonal calcium aluminate hydrates to cubic phases in hydrated calcium aluminate cements (CAC) can involve undesirable porosity changes and loss of strength. Modification of CAC by phosphate addition avoids conversion, by altering the nature of the reaction products, yielding a stable amorphous gel instead of the usual crystalline hydrate products. Here, details of the environments of aluminium and phosphorus in this gel were elucidated using solid-state NMR and complementary techniques. Aluminium is identified in both octahedral and tetrahedral coordination states, and phosphorus is present in hydrous environments with varying, but mostly low, degrees of crosslinking. A {sup 31}P/{sup 27}Al rotational echo adiabatic passage double resonance (REAPDOR) experiment showed the existence of aluminium–phosphorus interactions, confirming the formation of a hydrated calcium aluminophosphate gel as a key component of the binding phase. This resolves previous disagreements in the literature regarding the nature of the disordered products forming in this system.

  12. Effect of electrostatic interactions on phase stability of cubic phases of biomembranes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Shu Jie; Masum, Shah Md; Yamashita, Yuko; Tamba, Yukihiro; Yamazaki, Masahito

    2002-06-01

    We investigated effect of electrostatic interactions due to surfacecharges on structures and stability of cubic phases of monoolein (MO)membrane using the small-angle X-ray scattering method. Firstly, wechanged the surface charge density of the membrane by usingdioleoylphosphatidic acid (DOPA). As increasing DOPA concentration in themembrane at 30 wt % lipid concentration, a Q(224) to Q(229) phasetransition occurred at 0.6 mol % DOPA, and at and above 25 mol %, DOPA/MOmembranes were in the L(α) phase. NaCl in the bulk phase reduced theeffect of DOPA. These results indicate that as the electrostaticinteractions increase, the most stable phase changes as follows: Q(224)⇒ Q(229) ⇒ L(α). The increase in DOPAconcentration reduced the absolute value of spontaneous curvature of themembrane, | H(0) |. Secondly, we changed the surface charge of themembrane by adding a de novo designed peptide, which has netpositive charges and a binding site on the electrically neutral membraneinterface. The peptide-1 (WLFLLKKK) induced a Q(224) to Q(229)phase transition in the MO membrane at low peptide concentration. As NaClconcentration increases, the MO/peptide-1 membrane changed from Q(229)to Q(224) phase. The increase in peptide-1 concentration reduced |H(0) |. Based on these results, the stability of the cubic phases and themechanism of phase transition between cubic phase and L(α) phase arediscussed.

  13. Calculations of and evidence for chain packing stress in inverse lyotropic bicontinuous cubic phases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shearman, Gemma C; Khoo, Bee J; Motherwell, Mary-Lynn; Brakke, Kenneth A; Ces, Oscar; Conn, Charlotte E; Seddon, John M; Templer, Richard H

    2007-06-19

    Inverse bicontinuous cubic lyotropic phases are a complex solution to the dilemma faced by all self-assembled water-amphiphile systems: how to satisfy the incompatible requirements for uniform interfacial curvature and uniform molecular packing. The solution reached in this case is for the water-amphiphile interfaces to deform hyperbolically onto triply periodic minimal surfaces. We have previously suggested that although the molecular packing in these structures is rather uniform the relative phase behavior of the gyroid, double diamond, and primitive inverse bicontinuous cubic phases can be understood in terms of subtle differences in packing frustration. In this work, we have calculated the packing frustration for these cubics under the constraint that their interfaces have constant mean curvature. We find that the relative packing stress does indeed differ between phases. The gyroid cubic has the least packing stress, and at low water volume fraction, the primitive cubic has the greatest packing stress. However, at very high water volume fraction, the double diamond cubic becomes the structure with the greatest packing stress. We have tested the model in two ways. For a system with a double diamond cubic phase in excess water, the addition of a hydrophobe may release packing frustration and preferentially stabilize the primitive cubic, since this has previously been shown to have lower curvature elastic energy. We have confirmed this prediction by adding the long chain alkane tricosane to 1-monoolein in excess water. The model also predicts that if one were able to hydrate the double diamond cubic to high water volume fractions, one should destabilize the phase with respect to the primitive cubic. We have found that such highly swollen metastable bicontinuous cubic phases can be formed within onion vesicles. Data from monoelaidin in excess water display a well-defined transition, with the primitive cubic appearing above a water volume fraction of 0.75. Both of

  14. Cationic Phospholipids Forming Cubic Phases: Lipoplex Structure and Transfection Efficiency

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Koynova, Rumiana; Wang, Li; MacDonald, Robert C. (NWU)

    2008-10-29

    The transfection activity and the phase behavior of two novel cationic O-alkyl-phosphatidylcholines, 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-hexylphosphocholine (C6-DOPC) and 1,2-dierucoyl-sn-glycero-3-ethylphosphocholine (di22:1-EPC), have been examined with the aim of more completely understanding the mechanism of lipid-mediated DNA delivery. Both lipids form cubic phases: C6-DOPC in the entire temperature range from -10 to 90 C, while di22:1-EPC exhibits an irreversible lamellar-cubic transition between 50 and 70 C on heating. The lipoplexes formed by C6-DOPC arrange into hexagonal phase, while the lipoplexes of di22:1-EPC are lamellar. Both lipids exhibit lower transfection activity than the lamellar-forming 1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-ethylphosphocholine (EDOPC). Thus, for the studied cationic phospholipid-DNA systems, the lipoplex phase state is a factor that does not seem to correlate with transfection activity. The parameter that exhibits better correlation with the transfection activity within the present data set is the phase state of the lipid dispersion prior to the addition of DNA. Thus, the lamellar lipid dispersion (EDOPC) produces more efficient lipoplexes than the dispersion with coexisting lamellar and cubic aggregates (diC22:1-EPC), which is even more efficient than the purely cubic dispersions (C6-DOPC; diC22:1-EPC after heating). It could be inferred from these data and from previous research that cubic phase lipid aggregates are unlikely to be beneficial to transfection. The lack of correlation between the phase state of lipoplexes and their transfection activity observed within the present data set does not mean that lipid phase state is generally unimportant for lipofection: a viewpoint now emerging from our previous studies is that the critical factor in lipid-mediated transfection is the structural evolution of lipoplexes within the cell, upon interacting and mixing with cellular lipids.

  15. Cationic phospholipids forming cubic phases: lipoplex structure and transfection efficiency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koynova, Rumiana; Wang, Li; Macdonald, Robert C

    2008-01-01

    The transfection activity and the phase behavior of two novel cationic O-alkyl-phosphatidylcholines, 1,2-dioleoyl- sn-glycero-3-hexylphosphocholine (C6-DOPC) and 1,2-dierucoyl- sn-glycero-3-ethylphosphocholine (di22:1-EPC), have been examined with the aim of more completely understanding the mechanism of lipid-mediated DNA delivery. Both lipids form cubic phases: C6-DOPC in the entire temperature range from -10 to 90 degrees C, while di22:1-EPC exhibits an irreversible lamellar-cubic transition between 50 and 70 degrees C on heating. The lipoplexes formed by C6-DOPC arrange into hexagonal phase, while the lipoplexes of di22:1-EPC are lamellar. Both lipids exhibit lower transfection activity than the lamellar-forming 1,2-dioleoyl- sn-glycero-3-ethylphosphocholine (EDOPC). Thus, for the studied cationic phospholipid-DNA systems, the lipoplex phase state is a factor that does not seem to correlate with transfection activity. The parameter that exhibits better correlation with the transfection activity within the present data set is the phase state of the lipid dispersion prior to the addition of DNA. Thus, the lamellar lipid dispersion (EDOPC) produces more efficient lipoplexes than the dispersion with coexisting lamellar and cubic aggregates (diC22:1-EPC), which is even more efficient than the purely cubic dispersions (C6-DOPC; diC22:1-EPC after heating). It could be inferred from these data and from previous research that cubic phase lipid aggregates are unlikely to be beneficial to transfection. The lack of correlation between the phase state of lipoplexes and their transfection activity observed within the present data set does not mean that lipid phase state is generally unimportant for lipofection: a viewpoint now emerging from our previous studies is that the critical factor in lipid-mediated transfection is the structural evolution of lipoplexes within the cell, upon interacting and mixing with cellular lipids.

  16. Unusually large unit cell of lipid bicontinuous cubic phase: towards nature's length scales

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Hojun; Leal, Cecilia

    Lipid bicontinuous cubic phases are of great interest for drug delivery, protein crystallization, biosensing, and templates for directing hard material assembly. Structural modulations of lipid mesophases regarding phase identity and unit cell size are often necessary to augment loading and gain pore size control. One important example is the need for unit cells large enough to guide the crystallization of bigger proteins without distortion of the templating phase. In nature, bicontinuous cubic constructs achieve unit cell dimensions as high as 300 nm. However, the largest unit cell of lipid mesophases synthesized in the lab is an order of magnitude lower. In fact, it has been predicted theoretically that lipid bicontinuous cubic phases of unit cell dimensions exceeding 30 nm could not exist, as high membrane fluctuations would damp liquid crystalline order. Here we report non-equilibrium assembly methods of synthesizing metastable bicontinuous cubic phases with unit cell dimensions as high as 70 nm. The phases are stable for very long periods and become increasingly ordered as time goes by without changes to unit cell dimensions. We acknowledge the funding source as a NIH.

  17. Multiple-phase behavior and memory effect of polymer gel

    CERN Document Server

    Annaka, M; Nakahira, T; Sugiyama, M; Hara, K; Matsuura, T

    2002-01-01

    A poly(4-acrylamidosalicylic acid) gel (PASA gel) exhibits multiple phases as characterized by distinct degrees of swelling; the gel can take one of four different swelling values, but none of the intermediate values. The gel has remarkable memory: the phase behavior of the gel depends on whether the gel has experienced the most swollen phase or the most collapsed phase in the immediate past. The information is stored and reversibly erased in the form of a macroscopic phase transition behavior. The structure factors corresponding to these four phases were obtained by SANS, which indicated the presence of characteristic structures depending on pH and temperature, particularly in the shrunken state. (orig.)

  18. Low-pH-induced transformation of bilayer membrane into bicontinuous cubic phase in dioleoylphosphatidylserine/monoolein membranes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okamoto, Yoshihide; Masum, Shah Md; Miyazawa, Haruna; Yamazaki, Masahito

    2008-04-01

    Cubic biomembranes, nonbilayer membranes with connections in three-dimensional space that have a cubic symmetry, have been observed in various cells. Interconversion between the bilayer liquid-crystalline (L(alpha)) phase and cubic phases attracted much attention in terms of both biological and physicochemical aspects. Herein we report the pH effect on the phase and structure of dioleoylphosphatidylserine (DOPS)/monoolein (MO) membranes under a physiological ion concentration condition, which was revealed by small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) measurement. At neutral pH, DOPS/MO membranes containing high concentrations of DOPS were in the L(alpha) phase. First, the pH effect on the phase and structure of the multilamellar vesicles (MLVs) of the DOPS/MO membranes preformed at neutral pH was investigated by adding various low-pH buffers into the MLV suspension. For 20%-DOPS/80%-MO MLVs, at and below pH 2.9, a transition from the L(alpha) to cubic (Q(224)) phase occurred within 1 h. This phase transition was reversible; a subsequent increase in pH to a neutral one in the membrane suspension transformed the cubic phase into the original L(alpha) phase. Second, we found that a decrease in pH transformed large unilamellar vesicles of DOPS/MO membranes into the cubic phase under similar conditions. We have proposed the mechanism of the low-pH-induced phase transition and also made a quantitative analysis on the critical pH of the phase transition. This finding is the first demonstration that a change in pH can induce a reversible phase transition between the L(alpha) and cubic phases of lipid membranes within 1 h.

  19. Curvature and bottlenecks control molecular transport in inverse bicontinuous cubic phases

    Science.gov (United States)

    Assenza, Salvatore; Mezzenga, Raffaele

    2018-02-01

    We perform a simulation study of the diffusion of small solutes in the confined domains imposed by inverse bicontinuous cubic phases for the primitive, diamond, and gyroid symmetries common to many lipid/water mesophase systems employed in experiments. For large diffusing domains, the long-time diffusion coefficient shows universal features when the size of the confining domain is renormalized by the Gaussian curvature of the triply periodic minimal surface. When bottlenecks are widely present, they become the most relevant factor for transport, regardless of the connectivity of the cubic phase.

  20. Influence of strontium on the cubic to ordered hexagonal phase

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    ... Refresher Courses · Symposia · Live Streaming. Home; Journals; Bulletin of Materials Science; Volume 23; Issue 6. Influence of strontium on the cubic to ordered hexagonal phase transformation in barium magnesium niobate. M Thirumal A K Ganguli. Phase Transitions Volume 23 Issue 6 December 2000 pp 495-498 ...

  1. The phase space of the focused cubic Schroedinger equation: A numerical study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Burlakov, Yuri O. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

    1998-05-01

    In a paper of 1988 [41] on statistical mechanics of the nonlinear Schroedinger equation, it was observed that a Gibbs canonical ensemble associated with the nonlinear Schroedinger equation exhibits behavior reminiscent of a phase transition in classical statistical mechanics. The existence of a phase transition in the canonical ensemble of the nonlinear Schroedinger equation would be very interesting and would have important implications for the role of this equation in modeling physical phenomena; it would also have an important bearing on the theory of weak solutions of nonlinear wave equations. The cubic Schroedinger equation, as will be shown later, is equivalent to the self-induction approximation for vortices, which is a widely used equation of motion for a thin vortex filament in classical and superfluid mechanics. The existence of a phase transition in such a system would be very interesting and actually very surprising for the following reasons: in classical fluid mechanics it is believed that the turbulent regime is dominated by strong vortex stretching, while the vortex system described by the cubic Schroedinger equation does not allow for stretching. In superfluid mechanics the self-induction approximation and its modifications have been used to describe the motion of thin superfluid vortices, which exhibit a phase transition; however, more recently some authors concluded that these equations do not adequately describe superfluid turbulence, and the absence of a phase transition in the cubic Schroedinger equation would strengthen their argument. The self-induction approximation for vortices takes into account only very localized interactions, and the existence of a phase transition in such a simplified system would be very unexpected. In this thesis the authors present a numerical study of the phase transition type phenomena observed in [41]; in particular, they find that these phenomena are strongly related to the splitting of the phase space into

  2. Electrochemical properties and diffusion of a redox active surfactant incorporated in bicontinuous cubic and lamellar phase

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kostela, J.; Elmgren, M.; Almgren, M.

    2005-01-01

    The objective of this study was to investigate the electrochemical behaviour of the divalent redox active surfactant, N-cetyl-N'-methylviologen (CMV), in bicontinuous cubic and lamellar phases. The liquid crystalline phases were prepared from the system glycerolmonooleate (GMO)-water (and brine)-cationic surfactant. A comparison of the phase behaviour of GMO with the monovalent cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and the divalent CMV surfactant showed that the surfactants gave about the same effect at the same surface charge density. The electrochemical measurements were made with a mixture of CTAB and CMV as the surfactant. Cyclic voltammetry was used to study the electrochemistry of CMV incorporated in the cubic and lamellar phases that were spread on a gold electrode. The E 0 -values in the cubic samples were more negative (-0.55 V versus SCE) than in the lamellar samples (-0.53 V versus SCE). This can be explained by the higher charge density in the lamellar phase. The diffusion coefficients were also measured in the cubic phase. The mass transport is slowed down about fifty times in the cubic phase compared to in the pure electrolyte. The concentration dependence on the diffusion coefficient was also investigated. No electron hopping could be observed, which suggest that diffusional movement of the redox probe is the main source of charge transport. By placing the samples on a conducting glass slide, spectroelectrochemical investigations were performed. In the lamellar phase strong dimerization was detected at high concentration of viologen, but much less in the cubic phase

  3. Electrochemical properties and diffusion of a redox active surfactant incorporated in bicontinuous cubic and lamellar phase

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kostela, J. [Uppsala University, Department of Physical Chemistry, Box 579, S-75123 Uppsala (Sweden)]. E-mail: johan.kostela@fki.uu.se; Elmgren, M. [Uppsala University, Department of Physical Chemistry, Box 579, S-75123 Uppsala (Sweden); Almgren, M. [Uppsala University, Department of Physical Chemistry, Box 579, S-75123 Uppsala (Sweden)

    2005-05-30

    The objective of this study was to investigate the electrochemical behaviour of the divalent redox active surfactant, N-cetyl-N'-methylviologen (CMV), in bicontinuous cubic and lamellar phases. The liquid crystalline phases were prepared from the system glycerolmonooleate (GMO)-water (and brine)-cationic surfactant. A comparison of the phase behaviour of GMO with the monovalent cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and the divalent CMV surfactant showed that the surfactants gave about the same effect at the same surface charge density. The electrochemical measurements were made with a mixture of CTAB and CMV as the surfactant. Cyclic voltammetry was used to study the electrochemistry of CMV incorporated in the cubic and lamellar phases that were spread on a gold electrode. The E {sup 0}-values in the cubic samples were more negative (-0.55 V versus SCE) than in the lamellar samples (-0.53 V versus SCE). This can be explained by the higher charge density in the lamellar phase. The diffusion coefficients were also measured in the cubic phase. The mass transport is slowed down about fifty times in the cubic phase compared to in the pure electrolyte. The concentration dependence on the diffusion coefficient was also investigated. No electron hopping could be observed, which suggest that diffusional movement of the redox probe is the main source of charge transport. By placing the samples on a conducting glass slide, spectroelectrochemical investigations were performed. In the lamellar phase strong dimerization was detected at high concentration of viologen, but much less in the cubic phase.

  4. Lattice vibrations and cubic to tetragonal phase transition in ZrO2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Negita, K.

    1989-01-01

    On the basis of analyses of phonon modes in ZrO 2 , it is suggested that condensation of a phonon X 2 - at the cubic Brillouin zone boundary X point, (0, 0, 2 π/a), is associated with the cubic to tetragonal phase transition in ZrO 2 . Free energy consideration shows that spontaneous volume and shear strains, e Alg = (e 1 +e 2 +e 3 ) and e Eg = (2e 3 - e 1 - e 2 )/ Λ3, are induced in the tetragonal phase as a result of indirect couplings of the X 2 - mode to homogeneous elastic strains; the tetragonal phase is improper ferroelastic

  5. High-pressure phase of the cubic spinel NiMn2O4

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Åsbrink, S.; Waskowska, A.; Olsen, J. Staun

    1998-01-01

    experimental uncertainty, there is no volume change at the transition. The cia ratio of the tetragonal spinel is almost independent of pressure and equal to 0.91. The phase transition is attributed to the Jahn-Teller-type distortion and the ionic configurationcan be assumed as (Mn3+)(tetr)[Ni2+Mn3+](oct......It has been observed that the fee spinel NiMn2O4 transforms to a tetragonal structure at about 12 GPa. The tetragonal phase does not revert to the cubic phase upon decompression and its unit-cell constants at ambient pressure are a(0)=8.65(8) and c(0)=7.88(15) Angstrom (distorted fee). Within thr......). The bulk modulus of the cubic phase is 206(4) GPa....

  6. Experimental and computational study on the phase stability of Al-containing cubic transition metal nitrides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rovere, Florian; Mayrhofer, Paul H; Music, Denis; Ershov, Sergey; Baben, Moritz to; Schneider, Jochen M; Fuss, Hans-Gerd

    2010-01-01

    The phase stability of Al-containing cubic transition metal (TM) nitrides, where Al substitutes for TM (i.e. TM 1-x Al x N), is studied as a function of the TM valence electron concentration (VEC). X-ray diffraction and thermal analyses data of magnetron sputtered Ti 1-x Al x N, V 1-x Al x N and Cr 1-x Al x N films indicate increasing phase stability of cubic TM 1-x Al x N at larger Al contents and higher temperatures with increasing TM VEC. These experimental findings can be understood based on first principle investigations of ternary cubic TM 1-x Al x N with TM = Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Y, Zr and Nb where the TM VEC and the lattice strain are systematically varied. However, our experimental data indicate that, in addition to the decomposition energetics (cubic TM 1-x Al x N → cubic TMN + hexagonal AlN), future stability models have to include nitrogen release as one of the mechanisms that critically determine the overall phase stability of TM 1-x Al x N.

  7. Nanosize stabilization of cubic and tetragonal phases in reactive plasma synthesized zirconia powders

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jayakumar, S., E-mail: sjayakumar.physics@gmail.com [Research and Development Centre, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore 641 014 (India); Department of Physics, Pollachi Institute of Engineering and Technology, Pollachi 642 205 (India); Ananthapadmanabhan, P.V.; Thiyagarajan, T.K. [Laser and Plasma Technology Division, BARC, Trombay, Mumbai 400 085 (India); Perumal, K. [Vision for Wisdom, Temple of Consciousness, Aliyar 642 101 (India); Mishra, S.C. [Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engg, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela 769 008 (India); Suresh, G. [Department of Physics, Park College of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore 641 659 (India); Su, L.T.; Tok, A.I.Y. [School of Materials Science and Engg, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639 798 (Singapore)

    2013-06-15

    Pure zirconium oxide powders with particle size 2–33 nm are synthesized by reactive plasma processing. Transmission electron microscopy investigation of these particles revealed size dependent behavior for their phase stabilization. The monoclinic phase is found to be stable when particle size is ≥20 nm; Tetragonal is found to be stabilized in the range of 7–20 nm and as the particle size decreases to 6 nm and less, the cubic phase is stabilized. - Highlights: ► Direct conversion of micron-sized zirconium hydride powder to single crystal ZrO{sub 2} nanopowder. ► Size dependent stabilization of cubic, tetragonal and monoclinic phases in the reactive plasma synthesized ZrO{sub 2} nanopowder. ► Transmission electron microscopic investigation to identify particles of different sizes and their corresponding phase structure.

  8. Gel phase formation in dilute triblock copolyelectrolyte complexes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Srivastava, Samanvaya; Andreev, Marat; Levi, Adam E.; Goldfeld, David J.; Mao, Jun; Heller, William T.; Prabhu, Vivek M.; de Pablo, Juan J.; Tirrell, Matthew V.

    2017-02-01

    Assembly of oppositely charged triblock copolyelectrolytes into phase-separated gels at low polymer concentrations (simulations. Here we show that in contrast to uncharged, amphiphilic block copolymers that form discrete micelles at low concentrations and enter a phase of strongly interacting micelles in a gradual manner with increasing concentration, the formation of a dilute phase of individual micelles is prevented in polyelectrolyte complexation-driven assembly of triblock copolyelectrolytes. Gel phases form and phase separate almost instantaneously on solvation of the copolymers. Furthermore, molecular models of self-assembly demonstrate the presence of oligo-chain aggregates in early stages of copolyelectrolyte assembly, at experimentally unobservable polymer concentrations. Our discoveries contribute to the fundamental understanding of the structure and pathways of complexation-driven assemblies, and raise intriguing prospects for gel formation at extraordinarily low concentrations, with applications in tissue engineering, agriculture, water purification and theranostics.

  9. Phase stability, electronic structure and equation of state of cubic TcN from first-principles calculations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Song, T.; Ma, Q.; Sun, X.W.; Liu, Z.J.; Fu, Z.J.; Wei, X.P.; Wang, T.; Tian, J.H.

    2016-01-01

    The phase transition, electronic band structure, and equation of state (EOS) of cubic TcN are investigated by first-principles pseudopotential method based on density-functional theory. The calculated enthalpies show that TcN has a transformation between zincblende and rocksalt phases and the pressure determined by the relative enthalpy is 32 GPa. The calculated band structure indicates the metallic feature and it might make cubic TcN a better candidate for hard materials. Particular attention is paid to the predictions of volume, bulk modulus and its pressure derivative which play a central role in the formulation of approximate EOSs using the quasi-harmonic Debye model. - Highlights: • The phase transition pressure and electronic band structure for cubic TcN are determined. • Particular attention is paid to investigate the equation of state parameters for cubic TcN. • The thermodynamic properties up to 80 GPa and 3000 K are successfully predicted.

  10. Effect of boron oxide on the cubic-to-monoclinic phase transition in yttria-stabilized zirconia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Florio, D.Z. de; Muccillo, R.

    2004-01-01

    Specimens of yttria fully stabilized zirconia with different amounts of boron oxide have been studied by X-ray diffraction at room temperature and at higher temperatures up to 1250 deg. C. A boron oxide-assisted cubic-to-monoclinic phase transformation was determined in the temperature range 800-1250 deg. C. In situ high temperature X-ray diffraction experiments gave evidences of the dependence of the phase transformation on the heating rate. The possibility of tuning the cubic-monoclinic phase ratio by suitable addition of boron oxide before pressing and sintering is proposed

  11. Volume phase transitions of cholesteric liquid crystalline gels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matsuyama, Akihiko

    2015-05-07

    We present a mean field theory to describe anisotropic deformations of a cholesteric elastomer without solvent molecules and a cholesteric liquid crystalline gel immersed in isotropic solvents at a thermal equilibrium state. Based on the neoclassical rubber theory of nematic elastomers, we derive an elastic energy and a twist distortion energy, which are important to determine the shape of a cholesteric elastomer (or gel). We demonstrate that when the elastic energy dominates in the free energy, the cholesteric elastomer causes a spontaneous compression in the pitch axis and elongates along the director on the plane perpendicular to the pitch axis. Our theory can qualitatively describe the experimental results of a cholesteric elastomer. We also predict the first-order volume phase transitions and anisotropic deformations of a gel at the cholesteric-isotropic phase transition temperature. Depending on a chirality of a gel, we find a prolate or oblate shape of cholesteric gels.

  12. Volume phase transitions of cholesteric liquid crystalline gels

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Matsuyama, Akihiko, E-mail: matuyama@bio.kyutech.ac.jp [Department of Bioscience and Bioinformatics, Faculty of Computer Science and Systems Engineering, Kyushu Institute of Technology, Kawazu 680-4, Iizuka, Fukuoka 820-8502 (Japan)

    2015-05-07

    We present a mean field theory to describe anisotropic deformations of a cholesteric elastomer without solvent molecules and a cholesteric liquid crystalline gel immersed in isotropic solvents at a thermal equilibrium state. Based on the neoclassical rubber theory of nematic elastomers, we derive an elastic energy and a twist distortion energy, which are important to determine the shape of a cholesteric elastomer (or gel). We demonstrate that when the elastic energy dominates in the free energy, the cholesteric elastomer causes a spontaneous compression in the pitch axis and elongates along the director on the plane perpendicular to the pitch axis. Our theory can qualitatively describe the experimental results of a cholesteric elastomer. We also predict the first-order volume phase transitions and anisotropic deformations of a gel at the cholesteric-isotropic phase transition temperature. Depending on a chirality of a gel, we find a prolate or oblate shape of cholesteric gels.

  13. Cubic phase control of ultrashort laser pulses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mecseki, K.; Erdelyi, M.; Kovacs, A.P.; Szabo, G.

    2006-01-01

    Complete test of publication follows. The temporal shape of an ultrashort laser pulse may change upon propagating through a linear dispersive medium having a phase shift ψω. The change can be characterized by the Taylor-coefficients of the phase shift which are calculated around the central frequency ω 0 of the pulse. Measurements and independent control of the group delay dispersion (GDD, ψ'(ω 0 )) and the third order dispersion (TOD, ψ'(ω 0 )) are important in several research fields, particularly in the generation of ultrashort laser pulses by chirped pulse amplification (CPA) and pulse shaping for molecular control. The GDD and the TOD of an ideal pulse compressor are equal to the negative of the corresponding dispersion coefficients of the medium. However, in the case of prism-pair and grating-pair compressor is different from the ratio of the coefficients of the medium to be compensated for. Therefore it is necessary to develop so-called cubic compressors that are able to control the TOD of the pulse, yet, do not affect the GDD. In this paper a new cubic compressor setup is investigated theoretically and experimentally, which resembles the set-up proposed by White, however, we control the GDD and the TOD by the position of a birefringent, semi-cylinder crystal place around the focal point of an achromatic lens. For the evaluation of the phase shift introduced by the proposed cubic compressor, a ray tracing program was written. The program allows optimizing the compressor parameters, such as the radius of the crystal, magnification of the lens etc. Calcite was applied because it is a strong birefringent material. Calculations showed that there is a trajectory, along which shifting the crystal the TOD can be tuned independently of the GDD. The value of the TOD changed in a relatively wide range between -3.15 x 10 5 fs 3 and -1.67 x 10 5 fs 3 . Although the defocus also affects the angular dispersion of the pulse leaving the compressor, if does not exceed

  14. Stress-Induced Cubic-to-Hexagonal Phase Transformation in Perovskite Nanothin Films.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cao, Shi-Gu; Li, Yunsong; Wu, Hong-Hui; Wang, Jie; Huang, Baoling; Zhang, Tong-Yi

    2017-08-09

    The strong coupling between crystal structure and mechanical deformation can stabilize low-symmetry phases from high-symmetry phases or induce novel phase transformation in oxide thin films. Stress-induced structural phase transformation in oxide thin films has drawn more and more attention due to its significant influence on the functionalities of the materials. Here, we discovered experimentally a novel stress-induced cubic-to-hexagonal phase transformation in the perovskite nanothin films of barium titanate (BaTiO 3 ) with a special thermomechanical treatment (TMT), where BaTiO 3 nanothin films under various stresses are annealed at temperature of 575 °C. Both high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy show a higher density of hexagonal phase in the perovskite thin film under higher tensile stress. Both X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and electron energy loss spectroscopy does not detect any change in the valence state of Ti atoms, thereby excluding the mechanism of oxygen vacancy induced cubic-to-hexagonal (c-to-h) phase transformation. First-principles calculations show that the c-to-h phase transformation can be completed by lattice shear at elevated temperature, which is consistent with the experimental observation. The applied bending plus the residual tensile stress produces shear stress in the nanothin film. The thermal energy at the elevated temperature assists the shear stress to overcome the energy barriers during the c-to-h phase transformation. The stress-induced phase transformation in perovskite nanothin films with TMT provides materials scientists and engineers a novel approach to tailor nano/microstructures and properties of ferroelectric materials.

  15. Nonsymmorphic cubic Dirac point and crossed nodal rings across the ferroelectric phase transition in LiOsO3

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Wing Chi; Zhou, Xiaoting; Chuang, Feng-Chuan; Yang, Shengyuan A.; Lin, Hsin; Bansil, Arun

    2018-05-01

    Crystalline symmetries can generate exotic band-crossing features, which can lead to unconventional fermionic excitations with interesting physical properties. We show how a cubic Dirac point—a fourfold-degenerate band-crossing point with cubic dispersion in a plane and a linear dispersion in the third direction—can be stabilized through the presence of a nonsymmorphic glide mirror symmetry in the space group of the crystal. Notably, the cubic Dirac point in our case appears on a threefold axis, even though it has been believed previously that such a point can only appear on a sixfold axis. We show that a cubic Dirac point involving a threefold axis can be realized close to the Fermi level in the nonferroelectric phase of LiOsO3. Upon lowering temperature, LiOsO3 has been shown experimentally to undergo a structural phase transition from the nonferroelectric phase to the ferroelectric phase with spontaneously broken inversion symmetry. Remarkably, we find that the broken symmetry transforms the cubic Dirac point into three mutually crossed nodal rings. There also exist several linear Dirac points in the low-energy band structure of LiOsO3, each of which is transformed into a single nodal ring across the phase transition.

  16. A popular metastable omega phase in body-centered cubic steels

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ping, D.H., E-mail: ping.de-hai@nims.go.jp [National Institute for Materials Science, Sengen 1-2-1, Tsukuba 305-0047 (Japan); Geng, W.T., E-mail: geng@ustb.edu.cn [School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083 (China)

    2013-05-15

    Steel remains to be one of the most common structural materials in the world as human civilization advances from the Iron Age to the ongoing Silicon Age. Our knowledge of its microstructure evolution and structure–performance relationship is nevertheless still incomplete. We report the observation and characterization of a long ignored metastable phase formed in steels with body-centered cubic (bcc) structure using both transmission electron microscopy and density functional theory calculations. This ω phase has a hexagonal structure and coherent interface with the matrix: a{sub ω} = √2 × a{sub bcc} and c{sub ω} = √3/2 × a{sub bcc}. It is 3.6% smaller in volume and 0.18 eV higher in energy than bcc-Fe, with atoms in alternating close- and loose-packed layers couple anti-ferromagnetically. Carbon plays a crucial role in promoting bcc to ω transformation. At a concentration higher than 4 at.% they tend to segregate from the bcc matrix to the ω-phase; at about 14 at.%, they can induce bcc to ω transformation; and finally at 25 at.%, they stabilize the ω phase as ω-Fe{sub 3}C. The ω phase in bcc Fe can serve as sinks for vacancies, H, and He atoms, leading to improved resistance of martensitic steels to irradiation damage. - Highlights: ► A long-ignored metastable ω phase in body-centered cubic (bcc) steel. ► The ω phase has hexagonal structure with lattice parameters a{sub ω} = √2 × a{sub bcc} and c{sub ω} = √3/2 × a{sub bcc}. ► Carbon enrichment is found to play a crucial role on the bcc-to-ω phase transformation. ► The ω phase is strongly related to the martensitic transformation and twinning structure. ► The ω phase in bcc Fe can serve as sinks for vacancies, H, and He atoms.

  17. Photoluminescence studies of cubic phase GaN grown by molecular beam epitaxy on (001) silicon covered with SiC layer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Godlewski, M.; Ivanov, V.Yu.; Bergman, J.P.; Monemar, B.; Barski, A.; Langer, R.

    1997-01-01

    In this work we evaluate optical properties of cubic phase GaN epilayers grown on top of (001) silicon substrate prepared by new process. Prior to the growth Si substrate was annealed at 1300-1400 o C in propane. The so-prepared substrate is covered within a thin (∼ 4 nm) SiC wafer, which allowed a successful growth of good morphological quality cubic phase GaN epilayers. The present results confirm recent suggestion on smaller ionization energies of acceptors in cubic phase GaN epilayers. (author)

  18. Structure and phase transition of BiFeO3 cubic micro-particles prepared by hydrothermal method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou, Jian-Ping; Yang, Ruo-Lin; Xiao, Rui-Juan; Chen, Xiao-Ming; Deng, Chao-Yong

    2012-01-01

    Graphical abstract: Bismuth ferrite (BiFeO 3 ) cubic micro-particles with smooth surfaces were synthesized. BiFeO 3 has a hexagonal perovskite structure with a space group R3c below 370 °C and rhombohedral perovskite structure with a space group R3m below 755 °C, undergoes a phase transition in the temperature range of 755–817 °C to a cubic structure, then decompose to liquid and Fe 2 O 3 above 939 °C. Highlights: ► BiFeO 3 micro-particles with smooth surface were synthesized by hydrothermal method. ► BiFeO 3 enjoys hexagonal structure with well element ratio and chemical valence. ► BiFeO 3 transition from rhombohedral phase to cubic phase lasts 60 °C. -- Abstract: Single-phase bismuth ferrite (BiFeO 3 ) powders were synthesized with a hydrothermal method by controlling the experimental conditions carefully. The powder structure, morphology and composition were characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscope, Raman measurement and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The particles change from irregular agglomerations to regular cubes with increasing KOH concentration. The large BiFeO 3 cubic particles enjoy much smooth surfaces with well-matched element ratio (Bi:Fe:O = 1:1:3) and chemical valence (Bi 3+ , Fe 3+ and O 2− ). The high temperature XRD and differential scanning calorimetry show that BiFeO 3 powders have a hexagonal perovskite structure with a space group R3c below 370 °C and a rhombohedral structure with a space group R3m below 755 °C. BiFeO 3 undergoes a phase transition in the temperature range of 755–817 °C from rhombohedral structure to a cubic phase, then decomposes to liquid and Fe 2 O 3 above 939 °C.

  19. Self diffusion and spectral modifications of a membrane protein, the Rubrivivax gelatinosus LH2 complex, incorporated into a monoolein cubic phase.

    OpenAIRE

    Tsapis, N; Reiss-Husson, F; Ober, R; Genest, M; Hodges, R S; Urbach, W

    2001-01-01

    The light-harvesting complex LH2 from a purple bacterium, Rubrivivax gelatinosus, has been incorporated into the Q230 cubic phase of monoolein. We measured the self-diffusion of LH2 in detergent solution and in the cubic phase by fluorescence recovery after photobleaching. We investigated also the absorption and fluorescence properties of this oligomeric membrane protein in the cubic phase, in comparison with its beta-octyl glucoside solution. In these experiments, native LH2 and LH2 labeled ...

  20. Variable-temperature single-crystal X-ray diffraction study of tetragonal and cubic perovskite-type barium titanate phases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakatani, Tomotaka; Yoshiasa, Akira; Nakatsuka, Akihiko; Hiratoko, Tatsuya; Mashimo, Tsutomu; Okube, Maki; Sasaki, Satoshi

    2016-02-01

    A variable-temperature single-crystal X-ray diffraction study of a synthetic BaTiO3 perovskite has been performed over the temperature range 298-778 K. A transition from a tetragonal (P4mm) to a cubic (Pm3m) phase has been revealed near 413 K. In the non-centrosymmetric P4mm symmetry group, both Ti and O atoms are displaced along the c-axis in opposite directions with regard to the Ba position fixed at the origin, so that Ti(4+) and Ba(2+) cations occupy off-center positions in the TiO6 and BaO12 polyhedra, respectively. Smooth temperature-dependent changes of the atomic coordinates become discontinuous with the phase transition. Our observations imply that the cations remain off-center even in the high-temperature cubic phase. The temperature dependence of the mean-square displacements of Ti in the cubic phase includes a significant static component which means that Ti atoms are statistically distributed in the off-center positions.

  1. Synthesis of nano-scale fast ion conducting cubic Li7La3Zr2O12.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sakamoto, Jeff; Rangasamy, Ezhiylmurugan; Kim, Hyunjoung; Kim, Yunsung; Wolfenstine, Jeff

    2013-10-25

    A solution-based process was investigated for synthesizing cubic Li7La3Zr2O12 (LLZO), which is known to exhibit the unprecedented combination of fast ionic conductivity, and stability in air and against Li. Sol-gel chemistry was developed to prepare solid metal-oxide networks consisting of 10 nm cross-links that formed the cubic LLZO phase at 600 ° C. Sol-gel LLZO powders were sintered into 96% dense pellets using an induction hot press that applied pressure while heating. After sintering, the average LLZO grain size was 260 nm, which is 13 times smaller compared to LLZO prepared using a solid-state technique. The total ionic conductivity was 0.4 mS cm(-1) at 298 K, which is the same as solid-state synthesized LLZO. Interestingly, despite the same room temperature conductivity, the sol-gel LLZO total activation energy is 0.41 eV, which 1.6 times higher than that observed in solid-state LLZO (0.26 eV). We believe the nano-scale grain boundaries give rise to unique transport phenomena that are more sensitive to temperature when compared to the conventional solid-state LLZO.

  2. Formation of cubic phases from large unilamellar vesicles of dioleoylphosphatidylglycerol/monoolein membranes induced by low concentrations of Ca2+.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Awad, Tarek S; Okamoto, Yoshihide; Masum, Shah Md; Yamazaki, Masahito

    2005-12-06

    We developed a new method for the transformation of large unilamellar vesicles (LUVs) into the cubic phase. We found that the addition of low concentrations of Ca(2+) to suspensions of multilamellar vesicles (MLVs) of membranes of monoolein (MO) and dioleoylphosphatidylglycerol (DOPG) mixtures (DOPG/MO) changed their L(alpha) phase to the cubic phases. For instance, the addition of 15-25 mM Ca(2+) to 30%-DOPG/70%-MO-MLVs induced the Q(229) phase, whereas the addition of > or =28 mM Ca(2+) induced the Q(224) phase. LUVs of DOPG/MO membranes containing > or =25 mol % DOPG were prepared easily. Low concentrations of Ca(2+) transformed these LUVs in excess buffer into the Q(224) or the Q(229) phase, depending on the Ca(2+) concentration. For example, 15 and 50 mM Ca(2+) induced the Q(224) and Q(229) phase in the 30%-DOPG/70%-MO-LUVs at 25 degrees C, respectively. This finding is the first demonstration of transformation of LUVs of lipid membranes into the cubic phase under excess water condition.

  3. Atomic-scale microstructural characterization and dielectric properties of crystalline cubic pyrochlore Bi1.5MgNb1.5O7 nanoparticles synthesized by sol-gel method

    KAUST Repository

    Zhang, Yuan; Zhu, Xinhua; Zhou, Shunhua; Zhu, Jianmin; Liu, Zhiguo; Al-Kassab, Talaat

    2013-01-01

    Here, we report the atomic-scale microstructural characterization and dielectric properties of crystalline cubic pyrochlore Bi1.5MgNb 1.5O7 (BMN) nanoparticles with mean size of 70 nm, which were synthesized by sol-gel method. The crystallinity, phase formation, morphology, and surface microstructure of the BMN nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectra, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), respectively. The phase evolution of the BMN nanoparticles investigated by XRD patterns showed that uniform cubic pyrochlore BMN nanoparticles were obtained after calcination at temperature of 800 C, and their structural information was revealed by Raman spectrum. TEM images demonstrated that the BMN nanoparticles had a spherical morphology with an average particle size of 70 nm, and their crystalline nature was revealed by HRTEM images. In addition, HRTEM images also demonstrate a terrace-ledge-kink (TLK) surface structure at the edges of rough BMN nanoparticles, where the terrace was on the (100) plane, and the ledge on the (001) plane. The formation of such a TLK surface structure can be well explained by a theory of periodic bond chains. Due to the surface structural reconstruction in the BMN nanoparticles, the formation of a tetragonal structure in a rough BMN nanoparticle was also revealed by HRTEM image. The BMN nanoparticles exhibited dielectric constants of 50 at 100 kHz and 30 at 1 MHz, and the dielectric loss of 0.19 at 1 MHz. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.

  4. Atomic-scale microstructural characterization and dielectric properties of crystalline cubic pyrochlore Bi1.5MgNb1.5O7 nanoparticles synthesized by sol-gel method

    KAUST Repository

    Zhang, Yuan

    2013-12-24

    Here, we report the atomic-scale microstructural characterization and dielectric properties of crystalline cubic pyrochlore Bi1.5MgNb 1.5O7 (BMN) nanoparticles with mean size of 70 nm, which were synthesized by sol-gel method. The crystallinity, phase formation, morphology, and surface microstructure of the BMN nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectra, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), respectively. The phase evolution of the BMN nanoparticles investigated by XRD patterns showed that uniform cubic pyrochlore BMN nanoparticles were obtained after calcination at temperature of 800 C, and their structural information was revealed by Raman spectrum. TEM images demonstrated that the BMN nanoparticles had a spherical morphology with an average particle size of 70 nm, and their crystalline nature was revealed by HRTEM images. In addition, HRTEM images also demonstrate a terrace-ledge-kink (TLK) surface structure at the edges of rough BMN nanoparticles, where the terrace was on the (100) plane, and the ledge on the (001) plane. The formation of such a TLK surface structure can be well explained by a theory of periodic bond chains. Due to the surface structural reconstruction in the BMN nanoparticles, the formation of a tetragonal structure in a rough BMN nanoparticle was also revealed by HRTEM image. The BMN nanoparticles exhibited dielectric constants of 50 at 100 kHz and 30 at 1 MHz, and the dielectric loss of 0.19 at 1 MHz. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.

  5. The effect of hydrostatic pressure on the physical properties of magnesium arsenide in cubic and hexagonal phases

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mokhtari, Ali, E-mail: mokhtari@sci.sku.ac.i [Simulation Laboratory, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Shahrekord University, P. B. 115, Shahrekord (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Sedighi, Matin [Simulation Laboratory, Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Shahrekord University, P. B. 115, Shahrekord (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

    2010-04-01

    Full potential-linearized augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method within density functional theory (DFT) was applied to study the structural and electronic properties of the magnesium arsenide in both cubic and hexagonal phases. The exchange-correlation functional was approximated as a generalized gradient functional introduced by Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof (GGA96) and Engel-Vosko (EV-GGA). The lattice parameters, bulk modulus and its pressure derivative, cohesive energy, band structures and effective mass of electrons and holes (EME and EMH) were obtained and compared to the available experimental and theoretical results. A phase transition was predicted at pressure of about 1.63 GPa from the cubic to the hexagonal phase. The effect of hydrostatic pressure on the behavior of the electronic properties such as band gap, valence bandwidths, anti-symmetry gap (the energy gap between two parts of the valence bands), EME and EMH were investigated using both GGA96 and EV-GGA methods. High applied pressure can decrease (increase) the holes mobility of cubic (hexagonal) phase of this compound.

  6. The effect of hydrostatic pressure on the physical properties of magnesium arsenide in cubic and hexagonal phases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mokhtari, Ali; Sedighi, Matin

    2010-01-01

    Full potential-linearized augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method within density functional theory (DFT) was applied to study the structural and electronic properties of the magnesium arsenide in both cubic and hexagonal phases. The exchange-correlation functional was approximated as a generalized gradient functional introduced by Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof (GGA96) and Engel-Vosko (EV-GGA). The lattice parameters, bulk modulus and its pressure derivative, cohesive energy, band structures and effective mass of electrons and holes (EME and EMH) were obtained and compared to the available experimental and theoretical results. A phase transition was predicted at pressure of about 1.63 GPa from the cubic to the hexagonal phase. The effect of hydrostatic pressure on the behavior of the electronic properties such as band gap, valence bandwidths, anti-symmetry gap (the energy gap between two parts of the valence bands), EME and EMH were investigated using both GGA96 and EV-GGA methods. High applied pressure can decrease (increase) the holes mobility of cubic (hexagonal) phase of this compound.

  7. Kinetics and mechanism of transitions involving the lamellar, cubic, inverted hexagonal, and fluid isotropic phases of hydrated monoacylglycerides monitored by time-resolved X-ray diffraction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Caffrey, M.

    1987-01-01

    A study of the dynamics and mechanism of the various thermotropic phase transitions undergone by the hydrated monoacylglycerides monoolein and monoelaidin, in the temperature range of 20-120 0 C and from 0 to 5 M NaCl, has been undertaken. Measurements were made by using time-resolved X-ray diffraction at the Cornell High-Energy Synchrotron Source. The lamellar chain order/disorder, lamellar/cubic (body centered, space group No.8), cubic (body centered, No.8)/cubic (primitive No.4), cubic (body centered, No.12)/cubic (primitive, No.4), cubic (primitive, No.4)/fluid isotropic, cubic (body centered, No.12)/inverted hexagonal, cubic (primitive, No.4)/inverted hexagonal, and hexagonal/fluid isotropic transitions were examined under active heating and passive cooling by using a jump in temperature to effect phase transformation. All of the transitions with the exception of the cubic (body centered, No.8)/cubic (primitive, No.4) and the cubic (body centered, No.12)/cubic (primitive, No.4) cooling transitions were found (1) to be repeatable, (2) to be reversible, and (3) to have an upper bound on the transit time (time required to complete the transition) of ≤ 3s. In addition to the time-resolved measurements, data were obtained on the stability of the various phases in the temperature range of 20-120 0 C and from 0 to 5 M NaCl. In the case of fully hydrated monoolein, high salt strongly favors the hexagonal over the cubic (body centered, No.8) phase and slightly elevates the hexagonal/fluid isotropic transition temperature. With fully hydrated monoelaidin, the hexagonal phase which is not observed in the absence of salt becomes the dominant phase at high salt concentration

  8. Sol-Gel Synthesis and Characterization of Cubic Bismuth Zinc Niobium Oxide Nanopowders

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ganchimeg Perenlei

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Bismuth zinc niobium oxide (BZN was successfully synthesized by a diol-based sol-gel reaction utilizing metal acetate and alkoxide precursors. Thermal analysis of a liquid suspension of precursors suggests that the majority of organic precursors decompose at temperatures up to 150°C, and organic free powders form above 350°C. The experimental results indicate that a homogeneous gel is obtained at about 200°C and then converts to a mixture of intermediate oxides at 350–400°C. Finally, single-phased BZN powders are obtained between 500 and 900°C. The degree of chemical homogeneity as determined by X-ray diffraction and EDS mapping is consistent throughout the samples. Elemental analysis indicates that the atomic ratio of metals closely matches a Bi1.5ZnNb1.5O7 composition. Crystallite sizes of the BZN powders calculated from the Scherrer equation are about 33–98 nm for the samples prepared at 500–700°C, respectively. The particle and crystallite sizes increase with increased sintering temperature. The estimated band gap of the BZN nanopowders from optical analysis is about 2.60–2.75 eV at 500-600°C. The observed phase formations and measured results in this study were compared with those of previous reports.

  9. Structure and phase transition of BiFeO{sub 3} cubic micro-particles prepared by hydrothermal method

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhou, Jian-Ping, E-mail: zhoujp@snnu.edu.cn [College of Physics and Information Technology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710062 (China); Yang, Ruo-Lin; Xiao, Rui-Juan; Chen, Xiao-Ming [College of Physics and Information Technology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710062 (China); Deng, Chao-Yong [Department of Electronic Science, Guizhou University, Guizhou Guiyang 550025 (China)

    2012-11-15

    Graphical abstract: Bismuth ferrite (BiFeO{sub 3}) cubic micro-particles with smooth surfaces were synthesized. BiFeO{sub 3} has a hexagonal perovskite structure with a space group R3c below 370 °C and rhombohedral perovskite structure with a space group R3m below 755 °C, undergoes a phase transition in the temperature range of 755–817 °C to a cubic structure, then decompose to liquid and Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} above 939 °C. Highlights: ► BiFeO{sub 3} micro-particles with smooth surface were synthesized by hydrothermal method. ► BiFeO{sub 3} enjoys hexagonal structure with well element ratio and chemical valence. ► BiFeO{sub 3} transition from rhombohedral phase to cubic phase lasts 60 °C. -- Abstract: Single-phase bismuth ferrite (BiFeO{sub 3}) powders were synthesized with a hydrothermal method by controlling the experimental conditions carefully. The powder structure, morphology and composition were characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscope, Raman measurement and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The particles change from irregular agglomerations to regular cubes with increasing KOH concentration. The large BiFeO{sub 3} cubic particles enjoy much smooth surfaces with well-matched element ratio (Bi:Fe:O = 1:1:3) and chemical valence (Bi{sup 3+}, Fe{sup 3+} and O{sup 2−}). The high temperature XRD and differential scanning calorimetry show that BiFeO{sub 3} powders have a hexagonal perovskite structure with a space group R3c below 370 °C and a rhombohedral structure with a space group R3m below 755 °C. BiFeO{sub 3} undergoes a phase transition in the temperature range of 755–817 °C from rhombohedral structure to a cubic phase, then decomposes to liquid and Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} above 939 °C.

  10. Enzymatic biofuel cell based on electrodes modified with lipid liquid-crystalline cubic phases

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nazaruk, Ewa; Smoliński, Sławomir; Swatko-Ossor, Marta; Ginalska, Grażyna; Fiedurek, Jan; Rogalski, Jerzy; Bilewicz, Renata

    Two glassy carbon electrodes modified with enzymes embedded in lyotropic liquid-crystalline cubic phase were used for the biofuel cell construction. The monoolein liquid-crystalline film allowed to avoid separators in the biofuel cell. Glucose and oxygen as fuels, and glucose oxidase and laccase as anode and cathode biocatalysts, respectively were used. The biofuel cell parameters were examined in McIlvaine buffer, pH 7 solution containing 15 mM of glucose and saturated with dioxygen. A series of mediators were tested taking into account their formal potentials, stability in the cubic phase and efficiency of mediation. Most stable was the biofuel cell based on tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) and 2,2‧-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate) (ABTS) as anode and cathode mediators, respectively. The open-circuit voltage was equal to 450 ± 40 mV. The power densities and current densities were measured for all the systems studied.

  11. Polymorphism of a lipid extract from Pseudomonas fluorescens: Structure analysis of a hexagonal phase and of a novel cubic phase of extinction symbol Fd--

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mariani, P.; Rivas, E.; Delacroix, H.; Luzzati, V.

    1990-01-01

    The phase diagram of the Pseudomonas fluorescens lipid extract is unusual, in the sense that it displays a cubic phase straddled by a hexagonal phase. The hexagonal phase was studied over an extended concentration range, and the reflections were phased on the assumption that the structure contains circular cylinders of known radius. The cubic phase, whose extinction symbol is Fd--, was analyzed by reference to space group No. 227 (Fd3m). The phases of the reflections were determined by using a novel pattern recognition approach, based upon the notion that the average fourth power of the electron density contrast 4 > is dependent on chemical composition but not on physical structure, provided that the function Δr(r) satisfies the constraints = 0 and 2 > = 1. The authors analyzed two cubic samples of different composition: for each of them they generated all the phase combinations compatible with the X-ray scattering data and they searched for those whose 4 > best agrees with the hexagonal phase. They concluded that the chemical composition of the phases being compared must be identical, that the X-ray scattering data should not be truncated artificially, and that the apodization must be mild so that the curvature takes a value intermediate between those corresponding to the raw data of the two phases. The structure may be visualized as a 3D generalization of the lipid monolayer. The structure, moreover, does not belong to the class of the infinite periodic surfaces without intersections

  12. Starch and chitosan oligosaccharides as interpenetrating phases in poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) injectable gels

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vieira, Jacquelin N.; Posada, James J. [Chemistry Department, B" 5IDA Research Group, Universidad Simón Bolívar, Caracas (Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of); Rezende, Rodrigo A. [Divisão de Tecnologias Tridimensionais–Centro de Tecnologia da Informação Renato Archer, Campinas, SP (Brazil); Sabino, Marcos A., E-mail: msabino@usb.ve [Chemistry Department, B" 5IDA Research Group, Universidad Simón Bolívar, Caracas (Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of); Divisão de Tecnologias Tridimensionais–Centro de Tecnologia da Informação Renato Archer, Campinas, SP (Brazil)

    2014-04-01

    Thermosensitive interpenetrating gels were prepared by physically blending poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPA) as the matrix and the following polysaccharides as interpenetrating phases: chitosan oligosaccharides (identified as QNAD and QNED) and soluble starch (STARCH). The molecular weight of the dispersed phase, the free water/bound water ratio and the thermosensitivity (transition temperature: LCST) of the gels were determined. It was found that these gels are pseudoplastic and that their viscosity depends on the molecular weight of the dispersed phase. LCST transition occurred around 35–37 °C. The morphology of the porosity of the freeze-dried samples was studied by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). An in vitro test of cell hemolysis on blood agar showed that these gels are noncytotoxic. According to the results obtained, these interpenetrating gels show characteristics of an injectable material, and have a transition LCST at body temperature, which reinforces their potential to be used in the surgical field and as scaffolds for tissue engineering. - Highlights: • Physical blends were prepared to obtain thermosensitive gels PNIPA/polysaccharides. • Rheological test allowed verifying the injectability of the gels. • Gels showed a LCST ∼ 37 °C, which makes them interesting for biomedical applications. • Porosity is a function of hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity/molecular weight of phases. • The PNIPA/starch gel showed better morphology as scaffold for tissue engineering.

  13. Cubic colloids : Synthesis, functionalization and applications

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Castillo, S.I.R.

    2015-01-01

    This thesis is a study on cubic colloids: micron-sized cubic particles with rounded corners (cubic superballs). Owing to their shape, particle packing for cubes is more efficient than for spheres and results in fascinating phase and packing behavior. For our cubes, the particle volume fraction when

  14. Orientation selection process during the early stage of cubic dendrite growth: A phase-field crystal study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tang Sai; Wang Zhijun; Guo Yaolin; Wang Jincheng; Yu Yanmei; Zhou Yaohe

    2012-01-01

    Using the phase-field crystal model, we investigate the orientation selection of the cubic dendrite growth at the atomic scale. Our simulation results reproduce how a face-centered cubic (fcc) octahedral nucleus and a body-centered cubic (bcc) truncated-rhombic dodecahedral nucleus choose the preferred growth direction and then evolve into the dendrite pattern. The interface energy anisotropy inherent in the fcc crystal structure leads to the fastest growth velocity in the 〈1 0 0〉 directions. New { 1 1 1} atomic layers prefer to nucleate at positions near the tips of the fcc octahedron, which leads to the directed growth of the fcc dendrite tips in the 〈1 0 0〉 directions. A similar orientation selection process is also found during the early stage of bcc dendrite growth. The orientation selection regime obtained by phase-field crystal simulation is helpful for understanding the orientation selection processes of real dendrite growth.

  15. Structural insights into the cubic-hexagonal phase transition kinetics of monoolein modulated by sucrose solutions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reese, Caleb W; Strango, Zachariah I; Dell, Zachary R; Tristram-Nagle, Stephanie; Harper, Paul E

    2015-04-14

    Using DSC (differential scanning calorimetry), we measure the kinetics of the cubic-HII phase transition of monoolein in bulk sucrose solutions. We find that the transition temperature is dramatically lowered, with each 1 mol kg(-1) of sucrose concentration dropping the transition by 20 °C. The kinetics of this transition also slow greatly with increasing sucrose concentration. For low sucrose concentrations, the kinetics are asymmetric, with the cooling (HII-cubic) transition taking twice as long as the heating (cubic-HII) transition. This asymmetry in transition times is reduced for higher sucrose concentrations. The cooling transition exhibits Avrami exponents in the range of 2 to 2.5 and the heating transition shows Avrami exponents ranging from 1 to 3. A classical Avrami interpretation would be that these processes occur via a one or two dimensional pathway with variable nucleation rates. A non-classical perspective would suggest that these exponents reflect the time dependence of pore formation (cooling) and destruction (heating). New density measurements of monoolein show that the currently accepted value is about 5% too low; this has substantial implications for electron density modeling. Structural calculations indicate that the head group area and lipid length in the cubic-HII transition shrink by about 12% and 4% respectively; this reduction is practically the same as that seen in a lipid with a very different molecular structure (rac-di-12:0 β-GlcDAG) that makes the same transition. Thermodynamic considerations suggest there is a hydration shell about one water molecule thick in front of the lipid head groups in both the cubic and HII phases.

  16. High Impulse Nanoparticulate-Based Gel Propellants, Phase I

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — This proposed Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I addresses the development of advanced gel propellants and determination of their suitability for...

  17. First-principles calculations of the elastic constants of the cubic, orthorhombic and hexagonal phases of BaF{sub 2}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nyawere, P.W.O., E-mail: otienop98@yahoo.ca [Computational Materials Science Group, Department of Physics, University of Eldoret, P.O. Box 1125-30100 Eldoret (Kenya); Department of Computing, Kabarak University, P.O. - Private Bag - 20157 Kabarak (Kenya); The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste (Italy); Makau, N.W., E-mail: wanimak@yahoo.com [Computational Materials Science Group, Department of Physics, University of Eldoret, P.O. Box 1125-30100 Eldoret (Kenya); Amolo, G.O., E-mail: georgeamolo862@gmail.com [Computational Materials Science Group, Department of Physics, University of Eldoret, P.O. Box 1125-30100 Eldoret (Kenya)

    2014-02-01

    All the elastic constants of cubic, orthorhombic and hexagonal phases of BaF{sub 2} have been calculated using first principles methods. We have employed density-functional theory within generalized gradient approximation (GGA) using a plane-wave pseudopotentials method and a plane-wave basis set. The calculated elastic constant values for a cubic phase compare well with recent theoretical and experimental calculations. The bulk modulus derived from the elastic constant calculations of orthorhombic phase of BaF{sub 2} is 94.5 GPa and those of hexagonal phase is 161 GPa. These values are in good agreement with experimental data available. Stability of these phases of BaF{sub 2} is also estimated in different crystallographic directions.

  18. Rapid hydrothermal route to synthesize cubic-phase gadolinium oxide nanorods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hazarika, Samiran; Paul, Nibedita; Mohanta, Dambarudhar

    2014-01-01

    An inexpensive fabrication route and growth mechanism is being reported for obtaining quality gadolinium oxide ( Gd 2 O 3 ) nanoscale rods. The elongated nanoscale systems, as produced via a hydrothermal process, were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), optical absorption spectroscopy, photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and magnetic hysteresis measurements. XRD patterns of the nanorods, as-prepared from independent precursors of different pH, depict a cubic crystal phase and an average crystallite size of 5-6.5 nm. As revealed from HRTEM micrographs, diameter of the nanorods prepared at pH = 13.3 (∼7 nm) was much smaller than the rods prepared at pH = 10.8 (∼19 nm). However, the aspect ratio was more than double in the former case than the latter case. PL response was found to be dominated by defect mediated emissions, whereas Raman spectrum of a given specimen (pH = 10.8) has revealed characteristic F g + A g modes of cubic phase of Gd 2 O 3 nanorods, apart from other independent modes. Furthermore, M ∼ H plot of the nanorod system (pH = 10.8) exhibited slight departure from the ideal superparamagnetic behaviour, with low remanence and coercive field values. The exploitation of one-dimensional Gd 2 O 3 nanorods have immense potential in the production of advanced contrast agents, smart drives and also in making novel ferrofluids of technological relevance. (author)

  19. ISAR Imaging of Ship Targets Based on an Integrated Cubic Phase Bilinear Autocorrelation Function

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jibin Zheng

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available For inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR imaging of a ship target moving with ocean waves, the image constructed with the standard range-Doppler (RD technique is blurred and the range-instantaneous-Doppler (RID technique has to be used to improve the image quality. In this paper, azimuth echoes in a range cell of the ship target are modeled as noisy multicomponent cubic phase signals (CPSs after the motion compensation and a RID ISAR imaging algorithm is proposed based on the integrated cubic phase bilinear autocorrelation function (ICPBAF. The ICPBAF is bilinear and based on the two-dimensionally coherent energy accumulation. Compared to five other estimation algorithms, the ICPBAF can acquire higher cross term suppression and anti-noise performance with a reasonable computational cost. Through simulations and analyses with the synthetic model and real radar data, we verify the effectiveness of the ICPBAF and corresponding RID ISAR imaging algorithm.

  20. Preparation of ZrW{sub 2}O{sub 8} xerogel and aerogels by sol-gel chemistry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Noailles, L.; Dunn, B.; Larson, D. [Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States); Starkovich, J.; Peng, H. [Northrop Grumman Space Technology, Redondo Beach, CA (United States)

    2004-07-01

    Xerogels and aerogels with the composition ZrW{sub 2}O{sub 8} have been synthesized using sol-gel chemistry. For the xerogel, trigonal phase is formed at 650 C and the cubic phase forms above 1100 C in less than 30 seconds. Aerogels have been prepared with an average pore diameter of 110 Aa and a surface area of 510 m{sup 2}g{sup -1}. (orig.)

  1. Pressure-driven insulator-metal transition in cubic phase UO2

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Li; Wang, Yilin; Werner, Philipp

    2017-09-01

    Understanding the electronic properties of actinide oxides under pressure poses a great challenge for experimental and theoretical studies. Here, we investigate the electronic structure of cubic phase uranium dioxide at different volumes using a combination of density functional theory and dynamical mean-field theory. The ab initio calculations predict an orbital-selective insulator-metal transition at a moderate pressure of ∼45 GPa. At this pressure the uranium's 5f 5/2 state becomes metallic, while the 5f 7/2 state remains insulating up to about 60 GPa. In the metallic state, we observe a rapid decrease of the 5f occupation and total angular momentum with pressure. Simultaneously, the so-called “Zhang-Rice state”, which is of predominantly 5f 5/2 character, quickly disappears after the transition into the metallic phase.

  2. Study on effect of cubic- and tetragonal phased BaTiO{sub 3} on the electrical and thermal properties of polymeric nanocomposites

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Thanki, A.A.; Goyal, R.K., E-mail: rkgoyal72@yahoo.co.in

    2016-11-01

    Polymer matrix nanocomposites based on polycarbonate (PC) and nanosized-cubic/tetragonal phases of barium titanate (BaTiO{sub 3}) were fabricated using a solution method followed by hot pressing. The content of both cubic- and tetragonal phased BaTiO{sub 3} was varied from 0 to 50 wt%. For a given weight fraction, the dielectric constant of the nanocomposites containing tetragonal BaTiO{sub 3} is more than those of cubic BaTiO{sub 3} filled nanocomposites. Moreover, cubic BaTiO{sub 3}/PC nanocomposites showed significantly lower dissipation factor than those of tetragonal BaTiO{sub 3}/PC nanocomposites. The dielectric constant of the nanocomposites was found to be frequency-independent. The microhardness of the nanocomposites increased with increase in the BaTiO{sub 3} content (both cubic- and tetragonal-phased) compared to the pure matrix. Scanning electron microscopy showed better dispersion and good interaction of the tetragonal BaTiO{sub 3} nanoparticles in the matrix. The addition of cubic BaTiO{sub 3} nanoparticles significantly reduced the thermal stability of the nanocomposites compared to matrix while the addition of tetragonal BaTiO{sub 3} nanoparticles decreased it slightly. The glass transition temperature of the cubic BaTiO{sub 3}/PC nanocomposites decreased significantly, whereas it reduced slightly for the tetragonal BaTiO{sub 3}/PC nanocomposites. - Highlights: • The effect of cubic-BaTiO{sub 3} and tetragonal-BaTiO{sub 3} nanoparticles were studied. • Cubic-BaTiO{sub 3} nanoparticles showed better microhardness. • Tetragonal-BaTiO{sub 3} nanoparticles showed better dielectric and thermal properties. • Frequency independent dielectric constants of the nanocomposites were observed.

  3. Rationalization of reduced penetration of drugs through ceramide gel phase membrane.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paloncýová, Markéta; DeVane, Russell H; Murch, Bruce P; Berka, Karel; Otyepka, Michal

    2014-11-25

    Since computing resources have advanced enough to allow routine molecular simulation studies of drug molecules interacting with biologically relevant membranes, a considerable amount of work has been carried out with fluid phospholipid systems. However, there is very little work in the literature on drug interactions with gel phase lipids. This poses a significant limitation for understanding permeation through the stratum corneum where the primary pathway is expected to be through a highly ordered lipid matrix. To address this point, we analyzed the interactions of p-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) and its ethyl (benzocaine) and butyl (butamben) esters with two membrane bilayers, which differ in their fluidity at ambient conditions. We considered a dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DOPC) bilayer in a fluid state and a ceramide 2 (CER2, ceramide NS) bilayer in a gel phase. We carried out unbiased (100 ns long) and biased z-constraint molecular dynamics simulations and calculated the free energy profiles of all molecules along the bilayer normal. The free energy profiles converged significantly slower for the gel phase. While the compounds have comparable affinities for both membranes, they exhibit penetration barriers almost 3 times higher in the gel phase CER2 bilayer. This elevated barrier and slower diffusion in the CER2 bilayer, which are caused by the high ordering of CER2 lipid chains, explain the low permeability of the gel phase membranes. We also compared the free energy profiles from MD simulations with those obtained from COSMOmic. This method provided the same trends in behavior for the guest molecules in both bilayers; however, the penetration barriers calculated by COSMOmic did not differ between membranes. In conclusion, we show how membrane fluid properties affect the interaction of drug-like molecules with membranes.

  4. Clean Grain Boundary Found in C14/Body-Center-Cubic Multi-Phase Metal Hydride Alloys

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hao-Ting Shen

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The grain boundaries of three Laves phase-related body-center-cubic (bcc solid-solution, metal hydride (MH alloys with different phase abundances were closely examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM, transmission electron microscopy (TEM, and more importantly, electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD techniques. By using EBSD, we were able to identify the alignment of the crystallographic orientations of the three major phases in the alloys (C14, bcc, and B2 structures. This finding confirms the presence of crystallographically sharp interfaces between neighboring phases, which is a basic assumption for synergetic effects in a multi-phase MH system.

  5. Visualization of membrane protein crystals in lipid cubic phase using X-ray imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Warren, Anna J.; Armour, Wes; Axford, Danny; Basham, Mark; Connolley, Thomas; Hall, David R.; Horrell, Sam; McAuley, Katherine E.; Mykhaylyk, Vitaliy; Wagner, Armin; Evans, Gwyndaf

    2013-01-01

    A comparison of X-ray diffraction and radiographic techniques for the location and characterization of protein crystals is demonstrated on membrane protein crystals mounted within lipid cubic phase material. The focus in macromolecular crystallography is moving towards even more challenging target proteins that often crystallize on much smaller scales and are frequently mounted in opaque or highly refractive materials. It is therefore essential that X-ray beamline technology develops in parallel to accommodate such difficult samples. In this paper, the use of X-ray microradiography and microtomography is reported as a tool for crystal visualization, location and characterization on the macromolecular crystallography beamlines at the Diamond Light Source. The technique is particularly useful for microcrystals and for crystals mounted in opaque materials such as lipid cubic phase. X-ray diffraction raster scanning can be used in combination with radiography to allow informed decision-making at the beamline prior to diffraction data collection. It is demonstrated that the X-ray dose required for a full tomography measurement is similar to that for a diffraction grid-scan, but for sample location and shape estimation alone just a few radiographic projections may be required

  6. Visualization of membrane protein crystals in lipid cubic phase using X-ray imaging

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Warren, Anna J. [Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE (United Kingdom); Armour, Wes [Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE (United Kingdom); Oxford e-Research Centre, 7 Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3QG (United Kingdom); Axford, Danny; Basham, Mark; Connolley, Thomas; Hall, David R. [Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE (United Kingdom); Horrell, Sam [Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE (United Kingdom); University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3BX (United Kingdom); McAuley, Katherine E.; Mykhaylyk, Vitaliy; Wagner, Armin; Evans, Gwyndaf, E-mail: gwyndaf.evans@diamond.ac.uk [Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE (United Kingdom)

    2013-07-01

    A comparison of X-ray diffraction and radiographic techniques for the location and characterization of protein crystals is demonstrated on membrane protein crystals mounted within lipid cubic phase material. The focus in macromolecular crystallography is moving towards even more challenging target proteins that often crystallize on much smaller scales and are frequently mounted in opaque or highly refractive materials. It is therefore essential that X-ray beamline technology develops in parallel to accommodate such difficult samples. In this paper, the use of X-ray microradiography and microtomography is reported as a tool for crystal visualization, location and characterization on the macromolecular crystallography beamlines at the Diamond Light Source. The technique is particularly useful for microcrystals and for crystals mounted in opaque materials such as lipid cubic phase. X-ray diffraction raster scanning can be used in combination with radiography to allow informed decision-making at the beamline prior to diffraction data collection. It is demonstrated that the X-ray dose required for a full tomography measurement is similar to that for a diffraction grid-scan, but for sample location and shape estimation alone just a few radiographic projections may be required.

  7. Cubic to tetragonal phase transition of Tm3+ doped nanocrystals in oxyfluoride glass ceramics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Yiming; Fu, Yuting; Shi, Yahui; Zhang, Xiaoyu; Yu, Hua; Zhao, Lijuan

    2016-01-01

    Tm 3+ ions doped β-PbF 2 nanocrystals in oxyfluoride glass ceramics with different doping concentrations and thermal temperatures are prepared by a traditional melt-quenching and thermal treatment method to investigate the structure and the phase transition of Tm 3+ doped nanocrystals. The structures are characterized by X-ray diffraction Rietveld analysis and confirmed with numerical simulation. The phase transitions are proved further by the emission spectra. Both of the doping concentration and thermal temperature can induce an O h to D 4h site symmetry distortion and a cubic to tetragonal phase transition. The luminescence of Tm 3+ doped nanocrystals at 800 nm was modulated by the phase transition of the surrounding crystal field

  8. Formation of metastable cubic phase in Ce{sub 100−x}Al{sub x} (x=45, 50) alloys and their thermal and magnetic properties

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Idzikowski, Bogdan, E-mail: idzi@ifmpan.poznan.pl [Institute of Molecular Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, M. Smoluchowskiego 17, 60-179 Poznań (Poland); Centre for Advanced Materials and Smart Structures, Polish Academy of Sciences, Okólna 2, 50-422 Wrocław (Poland); Śniadecki, Zbigniew [Institute of Molecular Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, M. Smoluchowskiego 17, 60-179 Poznań (Poland); Centre for Advanced Materials and Smart Structures, Polish Academy of Sciences, Okólna 2, 50-422 Wrocław (Poland); Puźniak, Roman [Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Aleja Lotników 32/46, 02-668 Warszawa (Poland); Kaczorowski, Dariusz [Institute of Low Temperature and Structure Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 1410, 50-950 Wrocław (Poland); Centre for Advanced Materials and Smart Structures, Polish Academy of Sciences, Okólna 2, 50-422 Wrocław (Poland)

    2017-01-01

    Ce{sub 100−x}Al{sub x} (x=45 and 50) alloys were synthesized by rapid quenching technique in the form of ribbons composed of nanocrystalline phase of CeAl with the ClCs-type structure (Pm-3m space group) embedded in an amorphous matrix. The cubic CeAl phase is known as metastable with random distribution of Ce and Al atoms in the unit cell. The crystalline volume fraction is about 7.5% in Ce{sub 55}Al{sub 45} and 3% in Ce{sub 50}Al{sub 50}. The alloy Ce{sub 55}Al{sub 45} shows better thermal stability than Ce{sub 50}Al{sub 50}, indicated by higher effective activation energy and higher crystallization temperature. Small off-stoichiometry in Ce{sub 55}Al{sub 45} results in degrading the glass forming ability and promotes formation of the cubic CeAl phase, as confirmed by magnetic measurements. In both alloys, the Ce ions are in stable trivalent state and order magnetically near 20 K. Another magnetic phase transition close to 10 K was found for Ce{sub 50}Al{sub 50} and was attributed to the presence of the well-known stable orthorhombic CeAl phase. To the best of our knowledge, the magnetic behavior of the CeAl cubic phase is reported here for the first time. - Highlights: • Synthesis of metastable cubic CeAl phase by rapid quenching. • The Ce ions in Ce{sub 55}Al{sub 45} and Ce{sub 50}Al{sub 50} are in stable trivalent state. • Magnetic transition near 10 K connected with the orthorhombic CeAl phase. • Phase transition at about 20 K originates from the cubic CeAl phase.

  9. Preparation of nickel and Ni_3Sn nanoparticles via extension of conventional citric acid and ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid mediated sol–gel method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Pingyun; Deng, Guodong; Guo, Xiaode; Liu, Hongying; Jiang, Wei; Li, Fengsheng

    2016-01-01

    This work aims to extend the application field of sol–gel process from conventional oxides, carbides, sulfides to metallic nanocrystalline materials. Metallic ions were coordinated with chelating agents of citric acid (CA) and ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) in aqueous solution. Then the solutions were dried at 383 K, resulting in the formation of sol and gel. Heating treatments of dried gels were then carried out with protection of N_2 atmosphere. Ni and Ni_3Sn alloy nanoparticles were obtained by this sol–gel method in the range of 623–823 K. The as-prepared Ni and Ni_3Sn alloy nanoparticles have average grain sizes of 15 and 30 nm, and have face-centred-cubic (fcc) crystalline phase. Our results provide new insight into the application of conventional sol–gel method. - Graphical abstract: Sol–gel method is conventionally applied to prepare oxides, carbides, and sulfides. In this work, the application field of sol–gel method is extended to metallic nanoparticles. By using citric acid (CA) and ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) mediated sol–gel method, metallic Ni (a and c) and Ni_3Sn (b and d) alloy nanoparticles can be prepared when the heating treatments are performed under N_2 protecting atmosphere. The Ni and Ni_3Sn nanoparticles have face-centered-cubic (fcc) crystalline phase and ultrafine grain sizes. Diffraction peaks of (110) superstructure reflection plane of Ni_3Sn nanoparticles can also be observed in Figure b, which can be considered as direct evidence of formation of alloy crystalline phase by performing this sol–gel method. - Highlights: • Ni and Ni_3Sn alloy nanoparticles have been prepared by sol–gel processes. • Citric acid and ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid were applied as chelating agent. • Diffraction peak of superstructure reflection plane of Ni_3Sn was detected by XRD. • A novel strategy for preparation of alloy nanoparticles has been presented.

  10. /sup 87/Rb NMR study at the cubic to tetragonal phase transition in RbCaF/sub 3/

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bulou, A [Angers Univ., 72 - Le Mans (France). Centre Universitaire; Theveneau, H; Trokiner, A; Papon, P [Ecole Superieure de Physique et Chimie Industrielles, 75 - Paris (France)

    1979-07-01

    The /sup 87/Rb nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum, in perovskite single crystal of RbCaF/sub 3/, is studied above and below the cubic-to-tetragonal phase transition occurring at 198 K. In the high-temperature cubic phase, the temperature dependence of the resonance line amplitude deviates from the Curie law and this can be attributed to the existence of tetragonal domains. In the low temperature tetragonal phase, a second-order quadrupole shift of the central line is observed, from which the CaF/sub 6/ tilt angle (order parameter) is derived. The order parameter temperature dependence is described by a power law with a cross over from exponent 0.5 to exponent 0.32 at 150 K. The tilt angle PHI is compared to the values obtained from X-ray and neutron powder diffraction data.

  11. Liquid crystalline phase as a probe for crystal engineering of lactose: carrier for pulmonary drug delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patil, Sharvil S; Mahadik, Kakasaheb R; Paradkar, Anant R

    2015-02-20

    The current work was undertaken to assess suitability of liquid crystalline phase for engineering of lactose crystals and their utility as a carrier in dry powder inhalation formulations. Saturated lactose solution was poured in molten glyceryl monooleate which subsequently transformed into gel. The gel microstructure was analyzed by PPL microscopy and SAXS. Lactose particles recovered from gels after 48 h were analyzed for polymorphism using techniques such as FTIR, XRD, DSC and TGA. Particle size, morphology and aerosolisation properties of prepared lactose were analyzed using Anderson cascade impactor. In situ seeding followed by growth of lactose crystals took place in gels with cubic microstructure as revealed by PPL microscopy and SAXS. Elongated (size ∼ 71 μm) lactose particles with smooth surface containing mixture of α and β-lactose was recovered from gel, however percentage of α-lactose was more as compared to β-lactose. The aerosolisation parameters such as RD, ED, %FPF and % recovery of lactose recovered from gel (LPL) were found to be comparable to Respitose® ML001. Thus LC phase (cubic) can be used for engineering of lactose crystals so as to obtain particles with smooth surface, high elongation ratio and further they can be used as carrier in DPI formulations. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Ternary Phase-Separation Investigation of Sol-Gel Derived Silica from Ethyl Silicate 40

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Shengnan; Wang, David K.; Smart, Simon; Diniz da Costa, João C.

    2015-01-01

    A ternary phase-separation investigation of the ethyl silicate 40 (ES40) sol-gel process was conducted using ethanol and water as the solvent and hydrolysing agent, respectively. This oligomeric silica precursor underwent various degrees of phase separation behaviour in solution during the sol-gel reactions as a function of temperature and H2O/Si ratios. The solution composition within the immiscible region of the ES40 phase-separated system shows that the hydrolysis and condensation reactions decreased with decreasing reaction temperature. A mesoporous structure was obtained at low temperature due to weak drying forces from slow solvent evaporation on one hand and formation of unreacted ES40 cages in the other, which reduced network shrinkage and produced larger pores. This was attributed to the concentration of the reactive sites around the phase-separated interface, which enhanced the condensation and crosslinking. Contrary to dense silica structures obtained from sol-gel reactions in the miscible region, higher microporosity was produced via a phase-separated sol-gel system by using high H2O/Si ratios. This tailoring process facilitated further condensation reactions and crosslinking of silica chains, which coupled with stiffening of the network, made it more resistant to compression and densification. PMID:26411484

  13. Low-pH-Induced Lamellar to Bicontinuous Primitive Cubic Phase Transition in Dioleoylphosphatidylserine/Monoolein Membranes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oka, Toshihiko; Hasan, Moynul; Islam, Md Zahidul; Moniruzzaman, Md; Yamazaki, Masahito

    2017-10-31

    Electrostatic interactions (EIs) play important roles in the structure and stability of inverse bicontinuous cubic (Q II ) phases of lipid membranes. We examined the effect of pH on the phase of dioleoylphosphatidylserine (DOPS)/monoolein (MO) membranes at low ionic strengths using small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). We found that the phase transitions from lamellar liquid-crystalline (L α ) to primitive cubic (Q II P ) phases in DOPS/MO (2/8 molar ratio) membranes occurred in buffers containing 50 mM NaCl at and below the final pH of 2.75 as the pH of the membrane suspension was decreased from a neutral value. The kinetic pathway of this transition was revealed using time-resolved SAXS with a stopped-flow apparatus. The first step is a rapid transition from the L α phase to the hexagonal II (H II ) phase, and the second step is a slow transition from the H II phase to the Q II P phase. We determined the rate constants of the first step, k 1 , and of the second step, k 2 , by analyzing the time course of SAXS intensities quantitatively. The k 1 value increased with temperature. The analysis of this result provided the values of its apparent activation energy, which were constant over temperature but increased with pH. This can be explained by an EI effect on the free energy of the transition state. In contrast, the k 2 value decreased with temperature, indicating that the true activation energy increased with temperature. These experimental results were analyzed using the theory of the activation energy of phase transitions of lipid membranes when the free energy of the transition state depends on temperature. On the basis of these results, we discussed the mechanism of this phase transition.

  14. Growth of cubic InN on r-plane sapphire

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cimalla, V.; Pezoldt, J.; Ecke, G.; Kosiba, R.; Ambacher, O.; Spiess, L.; Teichert, G.; Lu, H.; Schaff, W.J.

    2003-01-01

    InN has been grown directly on r-plane sapphire substrates by plasma-enhanced molecular-beam epitaxy. X-ray diffraction investigations have shown that the InN layers consist of a predominant zinc blende (cubic) structure along with a fraction of the wurtzite (hexagonal) phase which content increases with proceeding growth. The lattice constant for zinc blende InN was found to be a=4.986 A. For this unusual growth of a metastable cubic phase on a noncubic substrate an epitaxial relationship was proposed where the metastable zinc blende phase grows directly on the r-plane sapphire while the wurtzite phase arises as the special case of twinning in the cubic structure

  15. Shock-Assisted Superficial Hexagonal-to-Cubic Phase Transition in GaN/Sapphire Interface Induced by Using Ultra-violet Laser Lift-Of Techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wei-Hua, Chen; Xiao-Dong, Hu; Xiang-Ning, Kang; Xu-Rong, Zhou; Xiao-Min, Zhang; Tong-Jun, Yu; Zhi-Jian, Yang; Ke, Xu; Guo-Yi, Zhang; Xu-Dong, Shan; Li-Ping, You

    2009-01-01

    Ultra-violet (KrF excimer laser, λ = 248 nm) laser lift-of (LLO) techniques have been operated to the GaN/sapphire structure to separate GaN from the sapphire substrate. Hexagonal to cubic phase transformation induced by the ultra-violet laser lift-of (UV-LLO) has been characterized by micro-Raman spectroscopy, micro-photoluminescence, along with high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). HRTEM indicates that UV-LLO induced phase transition takes place above the LLO interface, without phase transition under the LLO interface. The formed cubic GaN often exists as nanocrystal grains attaching on the bulk hexagonal GaN. The half-loop-cluster-like UV-LLO interface indicates that the LLO-induced shock waves has generated and played an assistant role in the decomposition of the hexagonal GaN and in the formation of cubic GaN grains at the LLO surface

  16. Lipidic cubic phase serial millisecond crystallography using synchrotron radiation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Przemyslaw Nogly

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Lipidic cubic phases (LCPs have emerged as successful matrixes for the crystallization of membrane proteins. Moreover, the viscous LCP also provides a highly effective delivery medium for serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX at X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs. Here, the adaptation of this technology to perform serial millisecond crystallography (SMX at more widely available synchrotron microfocus beamlines is described. Compared with conventional microcrystallography, LCP-SMX eliminates the need for difficult handling of individual crystals and allows for data collection at room temperature. The technology is demonstrated by solving a structure of the light-driven proton-pump bacteriorhodopsin (bR at a resolution of 2.4 Å. The room-temperature structure of bR is very similar to previous cryogenic structures but shows small yet distinct differences in the retinal ligand and proton-transfer pathway.

  17. Synthesis and characterization of nanosized MgxMn1−xFe2O4 ferrites by both sol-gel and thermal decomposition methods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    De-León-Prado, Laura Elena; Cortés-Hernández, Dora Alicia; Almanza-Robles, José Manuel; Escobedo-Bocardo, José Concepción; Sánchez, Javier; Reyes-Rdz, Pamela Yajaira; Jasso-Terán, Rosario Argentina; Hurtado-López, Gilberto Francisco

    2017-01-01

    This work reports the synthesis of Mg x Mn 1−x Fe 2 O 4 (x=0–1) nanoparticles by both sol-gel and thermal decomposition methods. In order to determine the effect of synthesis conditions on the crystal structure and magnetic properties of the ferrites, the synthesis was carried out varying some parameters, including composition. By both methods it was possible to obtain ferrites having a single crystalline phase with cubic inverse spinel structure and a behavior near to that of superparamagnetic materials. Saturation magnetization values were higher for materials synthesized by sol-gel. Furthermore, in both cases particles have a spherical-like morphology and nanometric sizes (11–15 nm). Therefore, these materials can be used as thermoseeds for the treatment of cancer by magnetic hyperthermia. - Highlights: • Mg–Mn ferrites were synthesized by sol-gel and thermal decomposition methods. • Materials showed a single cubic inverse spinel crystalline structure. • Ferrites have a soft ferrimagnetic behavior close to superparamagnetic materials.

  18. Synthesis of zirconia sol stabilized by trivalent cations (yttrium and neodymium or americium): a precursor for Am-bearing cubic stabilized zirconia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lemonnier, Stephane; Grandjean, Stephane; Robisson, Anne-Charlotte; Jolivet, Jean-Pierre

    2010-03-07

    Recent concepts for nuclear fuel and targets for transmuting long-lived radionuclides (minor actinides) and for the development of innovative Gen-IV nuclear fuel cycles imply fabricating host phases for actinide or mixed actinide compounds. Cubic stabilized zirconia (Zr, Y, Am)O(2-x) is one of the mixed phases tested in transmutation experiments. Wet chemical routes as an alternative to the powder metallurgy are being investigated to obtain the required phases while minimizing the handling of contaminating radioactive powder. Hydrolysis of zirconium, neodymium (a typical surrogate for americium) and yttrium in aqueous media in the presence of acetylacetone was firstly investigated. Progressive hydrolysis of zirconium acetylacetonate and sorption of trivalent cations and acacH on the zirconia particles led to a stable dispersion of nanoparticles (5-7 nm) in the 6-7 pH range. This sol gels with time or with temperature. The application to americium-containing solutions was then successfully tested: a stable sol was synthesized, characterized and used to prepare cubic stabilized zirconia (Zr, Y, Am)O(2-x).

  19. Triclinic-cubic phase transition and negative expansion in the actinide IV (Th, U, Np, Pu) diphosphates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wallez, Gilles; Bregiroux, Damien; Raison, Philippe E.; Bykov, Denis; Konings, Rudy J.M.; Dacheux, Nicolas; Clavier, Nicolas; Delevoye, Laurent; Popa, Karin; Fitch, Andrew N.

    2012-01-01

    The AnP 2 O 7 diphosphates (An = Th, U, Np, Pu) have been synthesized by various routes depending on the stability of the An(IV) cation and its suitability for the unusual octahedral environment. Synchrotron and X-ray diffraction, thermal analysis, Raman spectroscopy, and 31 P nuclear magnetic resonance reveal them as a new family of diphosphates which probably includes the recently studied CeP 2 O 7 . Although they adopt at high temperature the same cubic archetypal cell as the other known MP 2 O 7 diphosphates, they differ by a very faint triclinic distortion at room temperature that results from an ordering of the P 2 O 7 units, as shown using high-resolution synchrotron diffraction for UP 2 O 7 . The uncommon triclinic-cubic phase transition is first order, and its temperature is very sensitive to the ionic radius of An(IV). The conflicting effects which control the thermal variations of the P-O-P angle are responsible for a strong expansion of the cell followed by a contraction at higher temperature. This inversion of expansion occurs at a temperature significantly higher than the phase transition, at variance with the parent compounds with smaller Mn(IV) cations in which the two phenomena coincide. As shown by various approaches, the P-O-b-P linkage remains bent in the cubic form. (authors)

  20. A reduction method for phase equilibrium calculations with cubic equations of state

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. V. Nichita

    2006-09-01

    Full Text Available In this work we propose a new reduction method for phase equilibrium calculations using a general form of cubic equations of state (CEOS. The energy term in the CEOS is a quadratic form, which is diagonalized by applying a linear transformation. The number of the reduction parameters is related to the rank of the matrix C with elements (1-Cij, where Cij denotes the binary interaction parameters (BIPs. The dimensionality of the problem depends only on the number of reduction parameters, and is independent of the number of components in the mixture.

  1. Analysis of coupled mass transfer and sol-gel reaction in a two-phase system

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Castelijns, H.J.; Huinink, H.P.; Pel, L.; Zitha, P.L.J.

    2006-01-01

    The coupled mass transfer and chemical reactions of a gel-forming compound in a two-phase system were studied in detail. Tetra-methyl-ortho-silicate (TMOS) is often used as a precursor in sol-gel chemistry to produce silica gels in aqueous systems. TMOS can also be mixed with many hydrocarbons

  2. Synthesis of Cubic Phase-Co Microspheres by Mechanical Solid-State Reaction-Thermal Decomposition and Research on Its Growth Kinetics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ying Deng

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Cubic phase cobalt (Co, which can be used as a key component for composite materials given its excellent ductility and internal structure, is not easy to obtain at room temperature. In this study, oxalic acid and cobalt nitrate are used as raw materials to synthesize the cobalt oxalate precursor, which has a stable structure with a five-membered chelate ring. Cobalt oxalate microspheres, having a high internal energy content, were prepared by using mechanical solid-state reaction in the presence of a surfactant, which can produce spherical micelles. The thermal decomposition of the precursor was carried out by maintaining it in a nitrogen atmosphere at 450°C for 3 h. At the end of the procedure, 100 nm cubic phase-Co microspheres, stable at room temperature, were obtained. Isothermal and nonisothermal kinetic mechanisms of cobalt grain growth were investigated. The cubic-Co grain growth activation energy, Q, was calculated in this study to be 71.47 kJ/mol. The required reaction temperature was low, making the production process simple and suitable for industrial applications.

  3. Spectra and energy levels of Eu{sup 3+} in cubic phase Gd{sub 2}O{sub 3}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Smith, Eric R. [Kratos Defense and Security Solutions, Inc., 5030 Bradford Dr., Huntsville, AL 35805 (United States); Gruber, John B. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78249-0697 (United States); Wellenius, Patrick; Muth, John F. [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, NC State University, Raleigh, NC 27606 (United States); Everitt, Henry O. [Department of Physics, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708 (United States); Army Aviation and Missile RD and E Center, Redstone Arsenal, AL 35898 (United States)

    2010-07-15

    In pulsed laser deposition of the sesquioxide semiconductor Gd{sub 2}O{sub 3}, adjusting the chamber oxygen pressure controls the crystalline structure of the host. This technique was used to deposit thin films of nominally 1.6% by weight europium-doped, cubic phase Gd{sub 2}O{sub 3} using 50 mTorr of oxygen. Structural measurements using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and selected area electron diffraction confirm the films were polycrystalline, cubic phase Eu:Gd{sub 2}O{sub 3}. The spectroscopic assignment of emission lines to specific radiative transitions within the trivalent Eu ion is confirmed by theoretical analysis of the appropriate crystal field Hamiltonian. Detailed crystal-field splittings are presented for the {sup 5}D{sub J=0-2} and {sup 7}F{sub J=0-5} multiplet manifolds of Eu{sup 3+} in this host material. (Abstract Copyright [2010], Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

  4. Phase portraits of cubic polynomial vector fields of Lotka-Volterra type having a rational first integral of degree 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cairo, Laurent; Llibre, Jaume

    2007-01-01

    We classify all the global phase portraits of the cubic polynomial vector fields of Lotka-Volterra type having a rational first integral of degree 2. For such vector fields there are exactly 28 different global phase portraits in the Poincare disc up to a reversal of sense of all orbits

  5. Different phases of a system of hard rods on three dimensional cubic lattice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vigneshwar, N.; Dhar, Deepak; Rajesh, R.

    2017-11-01

    We study the different phases of a system of monodispersed hard rods of length k on a cubic lattice, using an efficient cluster algorithm able to simulate densities close to the fully-packed limit. For k≤slant 4 , the system is disordered at all densities. For k=5, 6 , we find a single density-driven transition, from a disordered phase to high density layered-disordered phase, in which the density of rods of one orientation is strongly suppressed, breaking the system into weakly coupled layers. Within a layer, the system is disordered. For k ≥slant 7 , three density-driven transitions are observed numerically: isotropic to nematic to layered-nematic to layered-disordered. In the layered-nematic phase, the system breaks up into layers, with nematic order in each layer, but very weak correlation between the ordering directions of different layers. We argue that the layered-nematic phase is a finite-size effect, and in the thermodynamic limit, the nematic phase will have higher entropy per site. We expect the systems of rods in four and higher dimensions will have a qualitatively similar phase diagram.

  6. Composition Dependence of Water Permeation Across Multicomponent Gel-Phase Bilayers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hartkamp, R.M.; Moore, Timothy C.; Iacovella, Christopher R.; Thompson, Michael A.; Bulsara, Pallav A.; Moore, David J.; McCabe, Clare

    2018-01-01

    The permeability of multicomponent phospholipid bilayers in the gel phase is investigated via molecular dynamics simulation. The physical role of the different molecules is probed by comparing multiple mixed-component bilayers containing distearylphosphatidylcholine (DSPC) with varying amounts of

  7. Plastic fluctuations in empty crystals formed by cubic wireframe particles

    Science.gov (United States)

    McBride, John M.; Avendaño, Carlos

    2018-05-01

    We present a computer simulation study of the phase behavior of colloidal hard cubic frames, i.e., particles with nonconvex cubic wireframe geometry interacting purely by excluded volume. Despite the propensity of cubic wireframe particles to form cubic phases akin to their convex counterparts, these particles exhibit unusual plastic fluctuations in which a random and dynamic fraction of particles rotate around their lattice positions in the crystal lattice while the remainder of the particles remains fully ordered. We argue that this unexpected effect stems from the nonconvex geometry of the particles in which the faces of a particle can be penetrated by the vertices of the nearest neighbors even at high number densities.

  8. New pathway for the formation of metallic cubic phase Ge-Sb-Te compounds induced by an electric current.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Yong-Jin; Cho, Ju-Young; Jeong, Min-Woo; Na, Sekwon; Joo, Young-Chang

    2016-02-23

    The novel discovery of a current-induced transition from insulator to metal in the crystalline phase of Ge2Sb2Te5 and GeSb4Te7 have been studied by means of a model using line-patterned samples. The resistivity of cubic phase Ge-Sb-Te compound was reduced by an electrical current (~1 MA/cm(2)), and the final resistivity was determined based on the stress current density, regardless of the initial resistivity and temperature, which indicates that the conductivity of Ge-Sb-Te compound can be modulated by an electrical current. The minimum resistivity of Ge-Sb-Te materials can be achieved at high kinetic rates by applying an electrical current, and the material properties change from insulating to metallic behavior without a phase transition. The current-induced metal transition is more effective in GeSb4Te7 than Ge2Sb2Te5, which depends on the intrinsic vacancy of materials. Electromigration, which is the migration of atoms induced by a momentum transfer from charge carriers, can easily promote the rearrangement of vacancies in the cubic phase of Ge-Sb-Te compound. This behavior differs significantly from thermal annealing, which accompanies a phase transition to the hexagonal phase. This result suggests a new pathway for modulating the electrical conductivity and material properties of chalcogenide materials by applying an electrical current.

  9. New lipid family that forms inverted cubic phases in equilibrium with excess water: molecular structure-aqueous phase structure relationship for lipids with 5,9,13,17-tetramethyloctadecyl and 5,9,13,17-tetramethyloctadecanoyl chains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamashita, Jun; Shiono, Manzo; Hato, Masakatsu

    2008-10-02

    With a view to discovering a new family of lipids that form inverted cubic phases, the aqueous phase behavior of a series of lipids with isoprenoid-type hydrophobic chains has been examined over a temperature range from -40 to 65 degrees C by using optical microscopy, DSC (differential scanning calorimetry), and SAXS (small-angle X-ray scattering) techniques. The lipids examined are those with 5,9,13,17-tetramethyloctadecyl and 5,9,13,17-tetramethyloctadecanoyl chains linked to a series of headgroups, that is, erythritol, pentaerythritol, xylose, and glucose. All of the lipid/water systems displayed a "water + liquid crystalline phase" two-phase coexistence state when sufficiently diluted. The aqueous phase structures of the most diluted liquid crystalline phases in equilibrium with excess water depend both on the lipid molecular structure and on the temperature. Given an isoprenoid chain, the preferred phase consistently follows a phase sequence of an H II (an inverted hexagonal phase) to a Q II (an inverted bicontinuous cubic phase) to an L alpha (a lamellar phase) as A* (cross-section area of the headgroup) increases. For a given lipid/water system, the phase sequence observed as the temperature increases is L alpha to Q II to H II. The present study allowed us to find four cubic phase-forming lipid species, PEOC 18+4 [mono- O-(5,9,13,17-tetramethyloctadecyl)pentaerythritol], beta-XylOC 18+4 [1- O-(5,9,13,17-tetramethyloctadecyl)-beta- d-xylopyranoside], EROCOC 17+4 [1- O-(5,9,13,17-tetramethyloctadecanoyl)erythritol], and PEOCOC 17+4 [mono- O-(5,9,13,17-tetramethyloctadecanoyl)pentaerythritol]. The values of T K (hydrated solid-liquid crystalline phase transition temperature) of the cubic phase-forming lipids are all below 0 degrees C. Quantitative analyses of the lipid molecular structure-aqueous phase structure relationship in terms of the experimentally evaluated "surfactant parameter" allow us to rationally select an optimum combination of hydrophilic

  10. Cubic-to-Tetragonal Phase Transitions in Ag-Cu Nano rods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Delogu, F.; Mascia, M.

    2012-01-01

    Molecular dynamics simulations have been used to investigate the structural behavior of nano rods with square cross section. The nano rods consist of pure Ag and Cu phases or of three Ag and Cu domains in the sequence Ag-Cu-Ag or Cu-Ag-Cu. Ag and Cu domains are separated by coherent interfaces. Depending on the side length and the size of individual domains, Ag and Cu can undergo a transition from the usual face-centered cubic structure to a body-centered tetragonal one. Such transition can involve the whole nano rod, or only the Ag domains. In the latter case, the transition is accompanied by a loss of coherency at the Ag-Cu interfaces, with a consequent release of elastic energy. The observed behaviors are connected with the stresses developed at the nano rod surfaces.

  11. Thorium inorganic gels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Genet, M.; Brandel, V.

    1988-01-01

    The optimum pH and concentration values of thorium salts and oxoacids or oxoacid salts which lead to transparent and stable inorganic gels have been determined. The isotherm drying process of the gel at 50 0 C leads successively to a partly dehydrated gel, then, to the formation of an unusual liquid phase and, finally to a dry amorphous solid phase which is still transparent. This kind of transparent inorganic gels and amorphous phase can be used as matrices for spectroscopic studies [fr

  12. Crystallization kinetics and growth mechanism of 8 mol% yttria-stabilized zirconia (8YSZ) nano-powders prepared by a sol-gel process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuo, C.-W.; Lee, Y.-H.; Hung, I-M.; Wang, M.-C.; Wen, S.-B.; Fung, K.-Z.; Shih, C.-J.

    2008-01-01

    Eight mol% yttria-stabilized zirconia (8YSZ) gel powders were synthesized at 348 K for 2 h using ZrOCl 2 .8H 2 O and Y(NO 3 ) 3 .6H 2 O as starting materials in an ethanol-water solution by a sol-gel process. The crystallization kinetics and growth mechanism of the 8YSZ gel powders have been investigated using differential thermal analysis (DTA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED). The XRD results and SAED pattern show that the 8YSZ gel powders calcined at 773 K for 2 h is a cubic ZrO 2 . The activation energy for the crystallization of the cubic ZrO 2 formation in the 8YSZ gel powders is determined as 231.76 kJ/mol by a non-isothermal DTA method. Both growth morphology parameter (n) and crystallization mechanism index (m) are close to 3.0, indicating that the bulk nucleation is dominant in the cubic ZrO 2 formation. The TEM examination shows that the cubic ZrO 2 has a spherical-like morphology with a size ranging from 10 to 20 nm

  13. Structural, magnetic and gas sensing properties of nanosized copper ferrite powder synthesized by sol gel combustion technique

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sumangala, T.P.; Mahender, C. [Department of Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076 (India); Barnabe, A. [Université de Toulouse, Institut Carnot CIRIMAT – UMR CNRS-UPS-INP 5085, Université Paul Sabatier, Toulouse 31062 (France); Venkataramani, N. [Department of Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076 (India); Prasad, Shiva, E-mail: shiva.pd@gmail.com [Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076 (India)

    2016-11-15

    Stoichiometric nano sized copper ferrite particles were synthesized by sol gel combustion technique. They were then calcined at various temperatures ranging from 300–800 °C and were either furnace cooled or quenched in liquid nitrogen. A high magnetisation value of 48.2 emu/g signifying the cubic phase of copper ferrite, was obtained for sample quenched to liquid nitrogen temperature from 800 °C. The ethanol sensing response of the samples was studied and a maximum of 86% response was obtained for 500 ppm ethanol in the case of a furnace cooled sample calcined at 800 °C. The chemical sensing is seen to be correlated with the c/a ratio and is best in the case of tetragonal copper ferrite. - Highlights: • One of the first study on ethanol sensing of cubic copper ferrite. • In-situ High temperature XRD done shows phase transition from cubic to tetragonal. • A non-monotonic increase in magnetization was seen with calcination temperature. • A response of 86% was obtained towards 500 ppm ethanol. • Tried to correlate sensing response and ion content in spinel structure.

  14. Study of the cubic - to - monoclinic transformation in magnesia partially stabilized zirconia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Muccillo, R.

    1988-01-01

    The transformation of the cubic phase to the stable monoclinic phase in ZrO 2 : 3%MgO quenched from 1450 0 C to RT has been studied by X-ray diffractometry in order to explain the thermal hysteresis in the electrical conductivity. The monoclinic-to-cubic ratio has been measured for samples annealed in the 500 0 C-1000 0 C temperature range. The results show that the decrease in the cubic phase content is the main responsible for the thermal hysteresis in the electrical conductivity of the magnesia partially stabilized zirconia solid electrolytes. (author) [pt

  15. Synthesis and characterization of nickel substituted cobalt ferrite nanoparticles by sol–gel auto-combustion method

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hankare, P.P., E-mail: p_hankarep@rediffmail.com [Solid State Research Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Shivaji University, Kolhapur, Maharashtra 416 004 (India); Sanadi, K.R., E-mail: sanadikishor@gmail.com [Solid State Research Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Shivaji University, Kolhapur, Maharashtra 416 004 (India); Garadkar, K.M. [Solid State Research Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, Shivaji University, Kolhapur, Maharashtra 416 004 (India); Patil, D.R. [Material Research Laboratory, Department of Physics, R.L. College, Parola, Jalgaon, Maharashtra 425 111 (India); Mulla, I.S. [Emeritus Scientist-CSIR, Centre for Materials for Electronics and Technology (C-MET), Panchawati, Pune 411 008 (India)

    2013-03-15

    Highlights: ► Co{sub 1−x}Ni{sub x}Fe{sub 2}O{sub 4} Mixed Metal oxides. ► Sol–gel auto-combustion method. ► Cubic spinel symmetry. ► Nanocrystaline material. ► Semiconducting nature. -- Abstract: Nanocrystalline Co{sub 1−x}Ni{sub x}Fe{sub 2}O{sub 4} (where x = 0.0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1) were successfully synthesized by sol–gel method using citrate–nitrate precursors. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were effectively utilized to investigate the different structural parameters. XRD showed single cubic spinel phase for all the samples. The decrease in lattice parameter and increase in crystallite size of the ferrispinel was observed with increasing nickel content. The surface morphology and elemental composition were studied by Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) respectively. The nanosize of the synthesized material had been identified by TEM investigation and which is lies in between 20–25 nm. The semiconducting nature of the samples was studied by variation of resistivity and thermal emf with temperature.

  16. First principles study of the structural and electronic properties of double perovskite Ba2YTaO6 in cubic and tetragonal phases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deluque Toro, C.E.; Rodríguez M, Jairo Arbey; Landínez Téllez, D.A.; Moreno Salazar, N.O.; Roa-Rojas, J.

    2014-01-01

    The Ba 2 YTaO 6 double perovskite presents a transition from cubic (Fm−3m) to tetragonal structure (I4/m) at high temperature. In this work, we present a detailed study of the structural and electronic properties of the double perovskite Ba 2 YTaO 6 in space group Fm−3m and I4/m. Calculations were made with the Full-Potential Linear Augmented Plane Wave method (FP-LAPW) within the framework of the Density Functional Theory (DFT) with exchange and correlation effects in the Generalized Gradient (GGA) and Local Density (LDA) approximations. From the minimization of energy as a function of volume and the fitting of the Murnaghan equation some structural characteristics were determined as, for example, total energy, lattice parameter (a=8.50 Å in cubic phase and a=5.985 Å and c=8.576 Å in tetragonal), bulk modulus (135.6 GPa in cubic phase and 134.1 GPa in tetragonal phase) and its derivative. The study of the electronic characteristics was performed from the analysis of the electronic density of states (DOS). We find a non-metallic behavior for this with a direct band gap of approximately 3.5 eV and we found that the Ba 2 YTaO 6 (I4/m) phase is the most stable one. © 2013 Elsevier Science. All rights reserved

  17. Application of phase diagrams to obtain a new surfactant-based fracturing gel; Aplicacao de diagrama de fases para obtencao de um novo gel de fraturamento hidraulico

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dantas, Tereza N. de Castro; Santana, Vanessa C.; Dantas Neto, Afonso A.; Franca Neta, Luzia S. de; Albuquerque, Heraldo S. [Rio Grande do Norte Univ., Natal, RN (Brazil)]. E-mail: tereza@eq.ufrn.br

    2003-07-01

    Through pseudo ternary phases diagram was defined a gel area with the objective of obtaining a new surfactant-based fracturing gel. The surfactant used was synthesized from regional vegetable oil. Fracturing gel properties, like: viscosity, leak off coefficient and proppant-settling rate were analyzed. The obtained results with the surfactant-based gel had its properties compared with a HPG-based gel (hydroxypropyl guar). Rheological tests was accomplished at 100 s{sup -1} being varied the temperature from 26 to 86 deg C, where the surfactant-based gel showed great results. The leak off coefficient was determined by static filtration and the new gel presented smaller coefficient in relation to the HPG gel. The proppant-setting rate was also determined in the gel and, the surfactant-based gel showed good static proppant support. One can conclude that obtained gel presents compatible characteristics when compared with the HPG gel, without the inconvenience of leaving insoluble residues in the well. (author)

  18. Pharmacokinetics and enhanced oral bioavailability in beagle dogs of cyclosporine A encapsulated in glyceryl monooleate/poloxamer 407 cubic nanoparticles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jie Lai

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Jie Lai1,2, Yi Lu1, Zongning Yin2, Fuqiang Hu3, Wei Wu11School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai, China, 2West China School of Pharmacy, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China, 3School of Pharmacy, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, ChinaAbstract: Efforts to improve the oral bioavailability of cyclosporine A (CyA remains a challenge in the field of drug delivery. In this study, glyceryl monooleate (GMO/poloxamer 407 cubic nanoparticles were evaluated as potential vehicles to improve the oral bioavailability of CyA. Cubic nanoparticles were prepared via the fragmentation of a bulk GMO/poloxamer 407 cubic phase gel by sonication and homogenization. The cubic inner structure formed was verified using Cryo-TEM. The mean diameters of the nanoparticles were about 180 nm, and the entrapment efficiency of these particles for CyA was over 85%. The in vitro release of CyA from these nanoparticles was less than 5% at 12 h. The results of a pharmacokinetic study in beagle dogs showed improved absorption of CyA from cubic nanoparticles as compared to microemulsion-based Neoral®; higher Cmax (1371.18 ± 37.34 vs 969.68 ± 176.3 ng mL-1, higher AUC0–t (7757.21 ± 1093.64 vs 4739.52 ± 806.30 ng h mL-1 and AUC0–∞ (9004.77 ± 1090.38 vs 5462.31 ± 930.76 ng h mL-1. The relative oral bioavailability of CyA cubic nanoparticles calculated on the basis of AUC0–∞ was about 178% as compared to Neoral®. The enhanced bioavailability of CyA is likely due to facilitated absorption by cubic nanoparticles rather than improved release.Keywords: nanoparticles, cubosomes, cyclosporine A, glyceryl monooleate, oral drug delivery, bioavailability, beagle dogs

  19. Cubic phase nanoparticles for sustained release of ibuprofen: formulation, characterization, and enhanced bioavailability study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dian, Linghui; Yang, Zhiwen; Li, Feng; Wang, Zhouhua; Pan, Xin; Peng, Xinsheng; Huang, Xintian; Guo, Zhefei; Quan, Guilan; Shi, Xuan; Chen, Bao; Li, Ge; Wu, Chuanbin

    2013-01-01

    In order to improve the oral bioavailability of ibuprofen, ibuprofen-loaded cubic nanoparticles were prepared as a delivery system for aqueous formulations. The cubic inner structure was verified by cryogenic transmission electron microscopy. With an encapsulation efficiency greater than 85%, the ibuprofen-loaded cubic nanoparticles had a narrow size distribution around a mean size of 238 nm. Differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction determined that ibuprofen was in an amorphous and molecular form within the lipid matrix. The in vitro release of ibuprofen from cubic nanoparticles was greater than 80% at 24 hours, showing sustained characteristics. The pharmacokinetic study in beagle dogs showed improved absorption of ibuprofen from cubic nanoparticles compared to that of pure ibuprofen, with evidence of a longer half-life and a relative oral bioavailability of 222% (P ibuprofen-loaded cubic nanoparticles provide a promising carrier candidate with an efficient drug delivery for therapeutic treatment. PMID:23468008

  20. Longitudinal sound velocities, elastic anisotropy, and phase transition of high-pressure cubic H2O ice to 82 GPa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuriakose, Maju; Raetz, Samuel; Hu, Qing Miao; Nikitin, Sergey M.; Chigarev, Nikolay; Tournat, Vincent; Bulou, Alain; Lomonosov, Alexey; Djemia, Philippe; Gusev, Vitalyi E.; Zerr, Andreas

    2017-10-01

    Water ice is a molecular solid whose behavior under compression reveals the interplay of covalent bonding in molecules and forces acting between them. This interplay determines high-pressure phase transitions, the elastic and plastic behavior of H2O ice, which are the properties needed for modeling the convection and internal structure of the giant planets and moons of the solar system as well as H2O -rich exoplanets. We investigated experimentally and theoretically elastic properties and phase transitions of cubic H2O ice at room temperature and high pressures between 10 and 82 GPa. The time-domain Brillouin scattering (TDBS) technique was used to measure longitudinal sound velocities (VL) in polycrystalline ice samples compressed in a diamond anvil cell. The high spatial resolution of the TDBS technique revealed variations of VL caused by elastic anisotropy, allowing us to reliably determine the fastest and the slowest sound velocity in a single crystal of cubic H2O ice and thus to evaluate existing equations of state. Pressure dependencies of the single-crystal elastic moduli Ci j(P ) of cubic H2O ice to 82 GPa have been obtained which indicate its hardness and brittleness. These results were compared with ab initio calculations. It is suggested that the transition from molecular ice VII to ionic ice X occurs at much higher pressures than proposed earlier, probably above 80 GPa.

  1. Crystallization kinetics and growth mechanism of 8 mol% yttria-stabilized zirconia (8YSZ) nano-powders prepared by a sol-gel process

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kuo, C.-W. [Department of Resources Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, 1 Ta-Hsueh Road, Tainan 70101, Taiwan (China); Lee, Y.-H. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, 1 Ta-Hsueh Road, Tainan 70101, Taiwan (China); Hung, I-M. [Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Yuan Ze University, 135 Far-East Road, Chung-Li, Taoyuan, Taiwan (China); Wang, M.-C. [Faculty of Fragrance and Cosmetics, Kaohsiung Medical University, 100 Shi-Chuan 1st Road, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan (China); Wen, S.-B. [Department of Resources Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, 1 Ta-Hsueh Road, Tainan 70101, Taiwan (China); Fung, K.-Z. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, 1 Ta-Hsueh Road, Tainan 70101, Taiwan (China); Shih, C.-J. [Faculty of Fragrance and Cosmetics, Kaohsiung Medical University, 100 Shi-Chuan 1st Road, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan (China)], E-mail: cjshih@kmu.edu.tw

    2008-04-03

    Eight mol% yttria-stabilized zirconia (8YSZ) gel powders were synthesized at 348 K for 2 h using ZrOCl{sub 2}.8H{sub 2}O and Y(NO{sub 3}){sub 3}.6H{sub 2}O as starting materials in an ethanol-water solution by a sol-gel process. The crystallization kinetics and growth mechanism of the 8YSZ gel powders have been investigated using differential thermal analysis (DTA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED). The XRD results and SAED pattern show that the 8YSZ gel powders calcined at 773 K for 2 h is a cubic ZrO{sub 2}. The activation energy for the crystallization of the cubic ZrO{sub 2} formation in the 8YSZ gel powders is determined as 231.76 kJ/mol by a non-isothermal DTA method. Both growth morphology parameter (n) and crystallization mechanism index (m) are close to 3.0, indicating that the bulk nucleation is dominant in the cubic ZrO{sub 2} formation. The TEM examination shows that the cubic ZrO{sub 2} has a spherical-like morphology with a size ranging from 10 to 20 nm.

  2. Effect of positively charged short peptides on stability of cubic phases of monoolein/dioleoylphosphatidic acid mixtures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masum, Shah Md; Li, Shu Jie; Awad, Tarek S; Yamazaki, Masahito

    2005-06-07

    To elucidate the stability and phase transition of cubic phases of biomembranes with infinite periodic minimal surface is indispensable from biological and physicochemical aspects. In this report, we investigated the effect of positively charged peptide-3K (LLKKK) and poly(L-lysine) on the phase stability of monoolein (MO) membranes containing negatively charged dioleoylphosphatidic acid (DOPA) (i.e., DOPA/MO membranes) using small-angle X-ray scattering. At first, the effect of peptide-3K on 10% DOPA/90% MO membrane in excess water, which is in the Q229 phase, was investigated. At 3.4 mM peptide-3K, a Q229 to Q230 phase transition occurred, and at >3.4 mM peptide-3K, the membrane was in the Q230 phase. Poly(L-lysine) (M(w) 1K-4K) also induced the Q230 phase, but peptide-2K (LLKK) could not induce it in the same membrane. We also investigated the effect of peptide-3K on the multilamellar vesicle (MLV) of 25% DOPA/75% MO membrane, which is in L(alpha) phase. In the absence of peptide, the spacing of MLV was very large (11.3 nm), but at > or = 8 mM peptide-3K, it greatly decreased to a constant value (5.2 nm), irrespective of the peptide concentration, indicating that peptide-3K and the membranes form an electrostatically stabilized aggregation with low water content. Poly(L-lysine) also decreased greatly the spacing of the 25% DOPA/75% MO MLV, indicating the formation of a similar aggregation. To compare the effects of peptide-3K and poly(L-lysine) with that of osmotic stress on stability of the cubic phase, we investigated the effect of poly(ethylene glycol) with molecular weight 7500 (PEG-6K) on the phase stability of 10% DOPA/90% MO membrane. With an increase in PEG-6K concentration, i.e., with an increase in osmotic stress, the most stable phase changed as follows; Q229 (Schwartz's P surface) --> Q224 (D) --> Q230 (G). On the basis of these results, we discuss the mechanism of the effects of the positively charged short peptides (peptide-3K) and poly

  3. Synthesis and characterization of nanosized Mg{sub x}Mn{sub 1−x}Fe{sub 2}O{sub 4} ferrites by both sol-gel and thermal decomposition methods

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    De-León-Prado, Laura Elena, E-mail: laura.elena.prado@gmail.com [Cinvestav-Unidad Saltillo, Av. Industria Metalúrgica #1062, Parque Industrial Saltillo-Ramos Arizpe, CP 25900, Ramos Arizpe, Coahuila, México (Mexico); Cortés-Hernández, Dora Alicia; Almanza-Robles, José Manuel; Escobedo-Bocardo, José Concepción; Sánchez, Javier; Reyes-Rdz, Pamela Yajaira; Jasso-Terán, Rosario Argentina [Cinvestav-Unidad Saltillo, Av. Industria Metalúrgica #1062, Parque Industrial Saltillo-Ramos Arizpe, CP 25900, Ramos Arizpe, Coahuila, México (Mexico); Hurtado-López, Gilberto Francisco [Centro de Investigación en Química Aplicada, Blvd. Enrique Reyna Hermosillo #140, CP 25294, Saltillo, Coahuila, México (Mexico)

    2017-04-01

    This work reports the synthesis of Mg{sub x}Mn{sub 1−x}Fe{sub 2}O{sub 4} (x=0–1) nanoparticles by both sol-gel and thermal decomposition methods. In order to determine the effect of synthesis conditions on the crystal structure and magnetic properties of the ferrites, the synthesis was carried out varying some parameters, including composition. By both methods it was possible to obtain ferrites having a single crystalline phase with cubic inverse spinel structure and a behavior near to that of superparamagnetic materials. Saturation magnetization values were higher for materials synthesized by sol-gel. Furthermore, in both cases particles have a spherical-like morphology and nanometric sizes (11–15 nm). Therefore, these materials can be used as thermoseeds for the treatment of cancer by magnetic hyperthermia. - Highlights: • Mg–Mn ferrites were synthesized by sol-gel and thermal decomposition methods. • Materials showed a single cubic inverse spinel crystalline structure. • Ferrites have a soft ferrimagnetic behavior close to superparamagnetic materials.

  4. Structural study on cubic-tetragonal transition of CH3NH3PbI3

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kawamura, Yukihiko; Mashiyama, Hiroyuki; Hasebe, Katsuhiko

    2002-01-01

    The cubic-tetragonal phase transition of CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3 was investigated by single crystal X-ray diffractometry. The crystal structure was refined at five temperatures in the tetragonal phase. The PbI 6 octahedron rotates around the c-axis alternatively to construct the SrTiO 3 -type tetragonal structure. A methylammonium ion is partially ordered; 24 disordered states in the cubic phase are reduced to 8. With decreasing temperature, the rotation angle of the octahedron increases monotonically, which indicates it is an order parameter of the cubic-tetragonal transition. (author)

  5. Sol-Gel Glasses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mukherjee, S. P.

    1985-01-01

    Multicomponent homogeneous, ultrapure noncrystalline gels/gel derived glasses are promising batch materials for the containerless glass melting experiments in microgravity. Hence, ultrapure, homogeneous gel precursors could be used to: (1) investigate the effect of the container induced nucleation on the glass forming ability of marginally glass forming compositions; and (2) investigate the influence of gravity on the phase separation and coarsening behavior of gel derived glasses in the liquid-liquid immiscibility zone of the nonsilicate systems having a high density phase. The structure and crystallization behavior of gels in the SiO2-GeO2 as a function of gel chemistry and thermal treatment were investigated. As are the chemical principles involved in the distribution of a second network former in silica gel matrix being investigated. The procedures for synthesizing noncrystalline gels/gel-monoliths in the SiO2-GeO2, GeO2-PbO systems were developed. Preliminary investigations on the levitation and thermal treatment of germania silicate gel-monoliths in the Pressure Facility Acoustic Levitator were done.

  6. Effects of quadratic and cubic nonlinearities on a perfectly tuned parametric amplifier

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Neumeyer, Stefan; Sorokin, Vladislav; Thomsen, Jon Juel

    2016-01-01

    We consider the performance of a parametric amplifier with perfect tuning (two-to-one ratio between the parametric and direct excitation frequencies) and quadratic and cubic nonlinearities. A forced Duffing–Mathieu equation with appended quadratic nonlinearity is considered as the model system......, and approximate analytical steady-state solutions and corresponding stabilities are obtained by the method of varying amplitudes. Some general effects of pure quadratic, and mixed quadratic and cubic nonlinearities on parametric amplification are shown. In particular, the effects of mixed quadratic and cubic...... nonlinearities may generate additional amplitude–frequency solutions. In this case an increased response and a more phase sensitive amplitude (phase between excitation frequencies) is obtained, as compared to the case with either pure quadratic or cubic nonlinearity. Furthermore, jumps and bi...

  7. Effects of parameters of sol-gel process on the phase evolution of sol-gel-derived hydroxyapatite

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eshtiagh-Hosseini, Hossein; Housaindokht, Mohammad Reza; Chahkandi, Mohammad

    2007-01-01

    It has been established that hydroxyapatite powders can be produced using an alkoxide-based sol-gel technique. Nanocrystalline powders of hydroxyapatite (HA) were prepared from Ca(NO 3 ) 2 .4H 2 O and PO(OC 2 H 5 ) 3 as calcium and phosphorus precursors, respectively, using a sol-gel route. For a number of samples, sol of phosphorus was first hydrolyzed for 24 h with distilled water. The sol temperature, aging time and heat treatment temperature on apatite formation were systematically studied. Increasing the aging time affected the reducing of CaO. Also, increasing the mixed sol solution temperature up to 80 deg. C had a positive effect on the disappearance of impurity phases. With the increase of the calcination temperature >600 deg. C, calcium phosphate impurity phases disappeared. Structural evolution during the synthesis of hydroxyapatite is investigated by using infrared (IR) analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermal behavior (DTA), and elemental analysis of electron microscopy examination (SEM). X-ray diffraction with the aid of Scherrer and Williamson-Hall equations has been used to characterize the distributions of crystallite size and micro-strain of HA powders .The results indicated that mean crystallite size increased and micro-strain decreased significantly with the rise in firing temperature

  8. Preparation of SDC electrolyte thin films on dense and porous substrates by modified sol-gel route

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lin Hongfei; Ding, Changsheng; Sato, Kazuhisa; Tsutai, Yoshifumi; Ohtaki, Hiromichi; Iguchi, Mabito; Wada, Chiharu; Hashida, Toshiyuki

    2008-01-01

    Nanocrystalline fluorite type samarium doped ceria (SDC) electrolyte thin film for intermediate temperature-solid oxide fuel cells (IT-SOFCs) application were prepared on the dense and porous substrates at low temperatures of 573-1373 K using a novel citrate sol-gel route combined with a sol suspension spray coating technique. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that the decomposition of the citrate gel film and the initial crystallization of the SDC occurred at a low temperature of about 590 K. XRD examination revealed that the annealing of the green film at temperatures of 573-1373 K provided cubic nanocrystalline SDC phase. The crystallite sizes were in the range of 9-19 nm. Microscopic observations indicated that the derived film was homogeneous, dense and crack-free without pinholes. The desired thickness for preparation of thin electrolyte films from hundreds of nm to several μm should be controllable and feasible by repeating the simple and inexpensive citrate sol-gel spray coating process

  9. Microstructural development of superconducting phases in Pb-BSCCO system derived from sol-gel technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Qureshi, A.H.; Hussain, N.; Durrani, S.K.; Waqas, H.; Arshad, M.

    2010-01-01

    Sol-gel processing technique has been utilized to produce the gel of Pb-BSCCO system (Bi/sub 2/-xPbxSr/sub 2/Ca/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 10/+-y, where x 0.2, 0.4, and 0.8, are the mole fraction of Pb substituted against Bi). The gel samples were subsequently heated to 800 deg. C for 2 h to obtain the powders which were then pressed and sintered at 845 deg. C for 60 h. The morphologies in the Pb-BSCCO gel, powder and sintered products were observed with scanning electron microscope (SEM) and optical microscope. The plate-like growths of the superconducting phases are evident from the SEM micrographs. The optical micrographs of sintered samples showed that the samples containing 0.2 and 0.8 mole fraction of Pb mainly consisted of dark grey and white regions, while sample having 0.4 mole fraction of Pb comprised of dark grey, light grey, and white regions. The different regions were analyzed by using energy dispersive X-rays (EDX) analyzer attached with SEM. The results revealed that the dark grey regions in all the samples represented the Bi/sub 2/Sr/sub 2/CaCu/sub 2/O/sub 8/ +- y (2212) phase whereas, light grey regions in sample (x = 0.4) constituted the Bi/sub 2/Sr/sub 2/Ca/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 10/ +- y (2223) phase. The white regions in all samples depicted the presence of CuO. The best result in term of larger fraction of superconducting phase (2223) has been observed in sample containing 0.4 mole fraction of Pb. (author)

  10. Determination of carbofuran on hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography using TSK gel amide 80 as stationary phase

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    A Kurnia; LW Lim; T Takeuchi

    2016-01-01

    The hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) coupled to environmental friendly capillary liquid chromatography was employed to investigate retention behavior of carbofuran. Aim of this research is to investigate retention behavior of carbofuran using TSK gel amide 80 as stationary phase. Several condition was conducted to investigate retention behavior of carbofuran such as comparison study of TSK gel amide 80 with other polar column, comparison study retention behavior of carbofuran on various system wavelength, water content effect in HILIC mode, effect of buffer concentration on HILIC mode, and analytical performance. Results showed that TSK gel imidazole was superior compare to other polar stationary phase on determine carbofuran, wavelength 251 and 254 nm was resulting higher absorbance for carbofuran than others, increase of water content on mobile phase was decrease the retention time, also increase buffer salt concentration was decrease the retention time and according to analysis performance that is the accuracy was 101±10,1, the LOD 0.66 ppm while LOQ 2.22 ppm. As conclusions that TSK gel amide 80 was offering good determine on carbofuran even using capillary liquid chromatography with 10 cm length of column. (author)

  11. Pressure-temperature phase behavior of mixtures of natural sphingomyelin and ceramide extracts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barriga, Hanna M G; Parsons, Edward S; McCarthy, Nicola L C; Ces, Oscar; Seddon, John M; Law, Robert V; Brooks, Nicholas J

    2015-03-31

    Ceramides are a group of sphingolipids that act as highly important signaling molecules in a variety of cellular processes including differentiation and apoptosis. The predominant in vivo synthetic pathway for ceramide formation is via sphingomyelinase catalyzed hydrolysis of sphingomyelin. The biochemistry of this essential pathway has been studied in detail; however, there is currently a lack of information on the structural behavior of sphingomyelin- and ceramide-rich model membrane systems, which is essential for developing a bottom-up understanding of ceramide signaling and platform formation. We have studied the lyotropic phase behavior of sphingomyelin-ceramide mixtures in excess water as a function of temperature (30-70 °C) and pressure (1-200 MPa) by small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering. At low ceramide concentrations the mixtures form the ripple gel phase (P(β)') below the gel transition temperature for sphingomyelin, and this observation has been confirmed by atomic force microscopy. Formation of the ripple gel phase can also be induced at higher temperatures via the application of hydrostatic pressure. At high ceramide concentration an inverse hexagonal phase (HII) is formed coexisting with a cubic phase.

  12. Tailoring the light absorption of Ag-PZT thin films by controlling the growth of hexagonal- and cubic-phase Ag nanoparticles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Tao; Wang, Zongrong; Ma, Ning; Du, Piyi

    2017-12-01

    PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3 thin films containing hexagonal and cubic Ag nanoparticles (Ag NPs) of various sizes were prepared using the sol-gel technique. During the aging process, Ag ions were photo-reduced to form hexagonal Ag NPs. These NPs were uniform in size, and their uniformity was maintained in the thin films during the heat treatment process. Both the total volume and average size of the hexagonal Ag NPs increased with an increasing Ag ion concentration from 0.02 to 0.08 mol l-1. Meanwhile, the remaining Ag ions were reduced to form unstable Ag-Pb alloy particles with Pb ions during the early heating stage. During subsequent heat treatment, these alloys decomposed to form cubic Ag NPs in the thin films. The absorption range of the thin films, quantified as the full width at half maximum in the ultraviolet-visible absorption spectrum, expanded from 6.3 × 1013 Hz (390-425 nm) to 8.4 × 1013 Hz (383-429 nm) as the Ag NPs/PZT ratio increased from 0.2 to 0.8. This work provides an effective way to broaden the absorption range and enhance the optical properties of such films.

  13. Tailoring the light absorption of Ag-PZT thin films by controlling the growth of hexagonal- and cubic-phase Ag nanoparticles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hu, Tao; Wang, Zongrong; Ma, Ning; Du, Piyi [Zhejiang University, State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Hangzhou (China)

    2017-12-15

    PbZr{sub 0.52}Ti{sub 0.48}O{sub 3} thin films containing hexagonal and cubic Ag nanoparticles (Ag NPs) of various sizes were prepared using the sol-gel technique. During the aging process, Ag ions were photo-reduced to form hexagonal Ag NPs. These NPs were uniform in size, and their uniformity was maintained in the thin films during the heat treatment process. Both the total volume and average size of the hexagonal Ag NPs increased with an increasing Ag ion concentration from 0.02 to 0.08 mol l{sup -1}. Meanwhile, the remaining Ag ions were reduced to form unstable Ag-Pb alloy particles with Pb ions during the early heating stage. During subsequent heat treatment, these alloys decomposed to form cubic Ag NPs in the thin films. The absorption range of the thin films, quantified as the full width at half maximum in the ultraviolet-visible absorption spectrum, expanded from 6.3 x 10{sup 13} Hz (390-425 nm) to 8.4 x 10{sup 13} Hz (383-429 nm) as the Ag NPs/PZT ratio increased from 0.2 to 0.8. This work provides an effective way to broaden the absorption range and enhance the optical properties of such films. (orig.)

  14. Phase separation in short-chain lecithin/gel-state long-chain lecithin aggregates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bian, J.; Roberts, M.F.

    1990-01-01

    Small bilayer particles for spontaneously from gel-state long-chain phospholipids such as dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine and 0.2 mol fraction short-chain lecithins (e.g., diheptanoylphosphatidylcholine). When the particles are incubed at temperatures greater than the T m of the long-chain phosphatidylcholine (PC), the particles rapidly fuse (from 90-angstrom to ≥ 5,000-angstrom radius); this transition is reversible. A possible explanation for this behavior involves patching or phase separation of the short-chain component within the gel-state particle and randomization of both lipid species above T m . Differential scanning calorimetry, 1 H T 1 values of proteodiheptanoyl-PC in diheptanoyl-PC-d 26 /dipalmitoyl-PC-d 62 matrices of varying deuterium content, solid-state 2 H NMR spectroscopy as a function of temperature, and fluorescence pyrene excimer-to-monomer ratios as a function of mole fraction diheptanoyl-PC provide evidence that such phase separation must occur. These results are used to construct a phase diagram for the diheptanoyl-PC/dipalmitoyl-PC system, to propose detailed geometric models for the different lipid particles involved, and to understand phospholipase kinetics toward the different aggregates

  15. Anti-inflammatory effect of diclofenac diethylammonium gel on acute phase of ligature induced periodontitis in rats

    OpenAIRE

    Botelho, Marco A.; Paixão, Mônica S.; Rachid, Ítalo; Bannet, Leonard Edward; Patrus, Ana Helena; Mattos, Thiago Borges; Queiroz, Dinalva; Ruela, Ronaldo; Costa, Jose M. C; Quintans Júnior, Lucindo José

    2010-01-01

    This study aimed to evaluate the effect of a diclofenac diethylammonium gel 10 mg/g (DD) on acute phase of ligature induced periodontitis model in rats. Experimental Periodontitis Disease (EPD) was induced in 30 Wistar rats subjected to ligature placement on left molars. Animals were treated with (DD), immediately after (EPD) induction. Saline-based gel (SG) was utilized as negative control and DD gel 10 mg/g was the tested substance. Animals were randomly assigned into the groups. The period...

  16. First principles study of the structural and electronic properties of double perovskite Ba{sub 2}YTaO{sub 6} in cubic and tetragonal phases

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Deluque Toro, C.E., E-mail: deluquetoro@gmail.com [Grupo de Nuevos Materiales, Universidad Popular del Cesar, Valledupar (Colombia); Rodríguez M, Jairo Arbey [Grupo de Estudios de Materiales—GEMA, Departamento de Física, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, AA 5997 Bogotá DC (Colombia); Landínez Téllez, D.A. [Grupo de Física de Nuevos Materiales, Departamento de Física, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, AA 5997 Bogotá DC (Colombia); Moreno Salazar, N.O. [Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal de Sergipe (Brazil); Roa-Rojas, J. [Grupo de Física de Nuevos Materiales, Departamento de Física, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, AA 5997 Bogotá DC (Colombia)

    2014-12-15

    The Ba{sub 2}YTaO{sub 6} double perovskite presents a transition from cubic (Fm−3m) to tetragonal structure (I4/m) at high temperature. In this work, we present a detailed study of the structural and electronic properties of the double perovskite Ba{sub 2}YTaO{sub 6} in space group Fm−3m and I4/m. Calculations were made with the Full-Potential Linear Augmented Plane Wave method (FP-LAPW) within the framework of the Density Functional Theory (DFT) with exchange and correlation effects in the Generalized Gradient (GGA) and Local Density (LDA) approximations. From the minimization of energy as a function of volume and the fitting of the Murnaghan equation some structural characteristics were determined as, for example, total energy, lattice parameter (a=8.50 Å in cubic phase and a=5.985 Å and c=8.576 Å in tetragonal), bulk modulus (135.6 GPa in cubic phase and 134.1 GPa in tetragonal phase) and its derivative. The study of the electronic characteristics was performed from the analysis of the electronic density of states (DOS). We find a non-metallic behavior for this with a direct band gap of approximately 3.5 eV and we found that the Ba{sub 2}YTaO{sub 6} (I4/m) phase is the most stable one. {sup ©} 2013 Elsevier Science. All rights reserved.

  17. Collective dynamics and self-diffusion in a diblock copolymer melt in the body-centered cubic phase

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Papadakis, C.M.; Rittig, F.; Almdal, K.

    2004-01-01

    The structure and dynamics of a strongly asymmetric poly(ethylene propylene)poly (dimethylsiloxane) (PEP-PDMS) diblock copolymer in the melt have been studied over a wide temperature range. Small-angle neutron scattering reveals that the sample exhibits two stable phases in this temperature range......: Above the order-to-disorder transition temperature, it is disordered, whereas the domain structure is body-centered cubic (bcc) below, being stable down to the lowest temperatures measured. In the disordered state, dynamic light scattering (DLS) in the polarized geometry reveals the heterogeneity mode...

  18. Alkali Metal Modification of Silica Gel-Based Stationary Phase in Gas Chromatography

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ashraf Yehia El-Naggar

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Modification of the precipitated silica gel was done by treatment with alkali metal (NaCl before and after calcination. The silica surfaces before and after modification were confirmed by infrared spectroscopy in order to observe the strength and abundance of the acidic surface OH group bands which play an important role in the adsorption properties of polar and nonpolar solutes. The surface-modified silica gels were tested as GC solid stationary phases in terms of the separation efficiency for various groups of non-polar and polar solutes. Also, thermodynamic parameters (ΔH, ΔG, and ΔS were determined using n-hexane as a probe in order to show the adsorbate-adsorbent interaction. It was observed that the non-polar solutes could be separated Independent on the reactivity and porosity of the silica surfaces. The efficiency of the surface-modified silica gels to separate the aromatic hydrocarbons seemed to be strongly influenced by the density of the surface hydroxyls.

  19. Matrix molecularly imprinted mesoporous sol-gel sorbent for efficient solid-phase extraction of chloramphenicol from milk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samanidou, Victoria; Kehagia, Maria; Kabir, Abuzar; Furton, Kenneth G

    2016-03-31

    Highly selective and efficient chloramphenicol imprinted sol-gel silica based inorganic polymeric sorbent (sol-gel MIP) was synthesized via matrix imprinting approach for the extraction of chloramphenicol in milk. Chloramphenicol was used as the template molecule, 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (3-APTES) and triethoxyphenylsilane (TEPS) as the functional precursors, tetramethyl orthosilicate (TMOS) as the cross-linker, isopropanol as the solvent/porogen, and HCl as the sol-gel catalyst. Non-imprinted sol-gel polymer (sol-gel NIP) was synthesized under identical conditions in absence of template molecules for comparison purpose. Both synthesized materials were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) and nitrogen adsorption porosimetry, which unambiguously confirmed their significant structural and morphological differences. The synthesized MIP and NIP materials were evaluated as sorbents for molecularly imprinted solid phase extraction (MISPE) of chloramphenicol in milk. The effect of critical extraction parameters (flow rate, elution solvent, sample and eluent volume, selectivity coefficient, retention capacity) was studied in terms of retention and desorption of chloramphenicol. Competition and cross reactivity tests have proved that sol-gel MIP sorbent possesses significantly higher specific retention and enrichment capacity for chloramphenicol compared to its non-imprinted analogue. The maximum imprinting factor (IF) was found as 9.7, whereas the highest adsorption capacity of chloramphenicol by sol-gel MIP was 23 mg/g. The sol-gel MIP was found to be adequately selective towards chloramphenicol to provide the necessary minimum required performance limit (MRPL) of 0.3 μg/kg set forth by European Commission after analysis by LC-MS even without requiring time consuming solvent evaporation and sample reconstitution step, often considered as an integral part in solid phase extraction work-flow. Intra and

  20. First-principles investigation on the mechanism of photocatalytic properties for cubic and orthorhombic KNbO3

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Yong-Qiang; Wu, Shao-Yi; Ding, Chang-Chun; Wu, Li-Na; Zhang, Gao-Jun

    2018-03-01

    The geometric structures, band structures, density of states and optical absorption spectra are studied for cubic and orthorhombic KNbO3 (C- and O-KNO) crystals by using first-principles calculations. Based on the above calculation results, the mechanisms of photocatalytic properties for both crystals are further theoretically investigated to deepen the understandings of their photocatalytic activity from the electronic level. Calculations for the effective masses of electron and hole are carried out to make comparison in photocatalytic performance between cubic and orthorhombic phases. Optical absorption in cubic phase is found to be stronger than that in orthorhombic phase. C-KNO has smaller electron effective mass, higher mobility of photogenerated electrons, lower electron-hole recombination rate and better light absorption capacity than O-KNO. So, the photocatalytic activity of cubic phase can be higher than orthorhombic one. The present work may be beneficial to explore the series of perovskite photocatalysts.

  1. Ab initio pseudopotential studies of cubic BC2N under high pressure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pan Zicheng; Sun Hong; Chen Changfeng

    2005-01-01

    We present the results of a systematic study of the structural, electronic, and vibrational properties of various cubic BC 2 N phases under high pressure. Ab initio pseudopotential total-energy and phonon calculations have been carried out to examine the changes in the structural parameters, bonding behaviours, band structures, and dynamic instabilities caused by phonon softening in these phases. We find that an experimentally synthesized high-density phase of cubic BC 2 N exhibits outstanding stability in the structural and electronic properties up to very high pressures. On the other hand, another experimentally identified phase with lower density and lower symmetry undergoes a dramatic structural transformation with a volume and bond-length collapse and a concomitant semi-metal to semiconductor transition. A third phase is predicted to be favourable over the above-mentioned lower-density phase by the enthalpy calculations. However, the dynamic phonon calculations reveal that it develops imaginary phonon modes and, therefore, is unstable in the experimental pressure range. The calculations indicate that its synthesis may be achieved at reduced pressures. These results provide a comprehensive understanding for the high-pressure behaviour of the cubic BC 2 N phases and reveal their interesting properties that can be verified by experiments

  2. Structure and stability of nonstoichiometric cubic phase δ-NbN1.2(O,C)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shalaeva, E.V.; Mitrofanov, B.V.; Shveikin, G.P.

    1996-01-01

    The nonstoichiometric δ-niobium nitride with surplus content of nitrogen atoms and the NaCl-type structure (a=0.439 nm), i.e. δ-NbN 1.2 (O, C), is stabilized in epitaxial deposited films. The diffraction patterns of these films display intensive diffuse scattering with regular intensity vanishings in the form of plane regions in the vicinity of structural and superstructural reciprocal space points of the δ-phase and in the form of spherical surfaces in the neighbourhood of structural points. The analysis performed shows that this scattering can be associated with the presence of mixed-nature short-range order regions in the nonstoichiometric δ-NbN 1.2 (O, C) phase which are characterized by longitudinal uncorrelated atomic displacement waves, as well as by concentration-type waves. The ordered oxycarbonitride phase (X-phase) described in the first approximation by the cubic lattice with parameter a=0.392 nm is found to precipitate when annealing the films at T=873 K. It has been established that the diffuse scattering occurring in δ-NbN 1.2 (O, C) and the structure of short-range order regions exhibit certain correlation with the structure of the precipitated ordered phase - G 100 x ∼1.1G 100 δ = K 1 ; G 010 x ∼1.1G 010 δ = K 2 (where K 1 and K 2 are wave vectors of longitudinal atomic displacement waves characterizing short-range order). (orig.)

  3. Silica-gel structural characterization during the initial phases of gelation and drying

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ferreira, Max Passos

    1996-01-01

    For centuries, glasses and ceramics have been made via melting or solid state reactions at temperatures above 100 deg C. The sol-gel process offers new approaches to the synthesis of glasses and ceramics, combining control of composition and structure at the molecular level with the ability to shape materials in bulk, powder, fiber and thin-film forms. The growth of sol-gel technology research is due to the many unique features of that class of materials. Major applications include optical elements and integrated optical devices, ceramic filters, membranes, supercondutors, magnetic, catalytic and manostructured materials to antioxidant, anticorrosion coatings and composite and biomedical materials. In this work a variety of techniques like spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, light scattering nuclear magnetic resonance, X ray diffraction and nitrogen adsorption have been employed to investigate the initial phase of the sol-gel transition of gamma ray irradiated tetramethoxysilane (TMOS) solutions and non-irradiated TMOS solution and to get information about the structure of the silica gels obtained under different gelation conditions. Typically the tetramethoxysilane solutions were prepared using a molar ratio of TMOS to demineralized water of 1 to 16. Some experiments were made under catalysed conditions. The mixing was carried out at room temperature. The turbidity and light scattering experiments on the polycondensation of tetramethoxysilane show that exists no drastic difference in the gelling time of a gamma ray irradiated and a non-irradiated TMOS+H 2 O (1+16 M) solution. In the absence of a catalyst, the gelling time for both reactions occurs in about 3.30 h. When HNO 3 (o.03 M) was used, the gelling time observed was 3 days. Raman and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy show no drastic difference during the initial phase at the sol-gel transition under ambient temperature/pressure and under gamma radiation. The gels heated

  4. Influence of pH during modified sol-gel process to synthesized pure phased YBCO

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barekat Rezaee, S.; Daadmehr, V.; Saeb, F.; Falahati, S.

    2007-01-01

    Full text: Among numerous studies of high-Tc superconductor compound, the YBCO system is the most studied system. During 3 last decades synthesized of high quality pure homogeneous powder were done. One of these methods was modified citrate gel that was widely used to obtain nanosized single phase YBCO. One of the most important factors to yield pure product is adjustment of the pH during the gelation. Then in this work, we adjusted different pH for gelatin and compare phase purity and elemental composition by using XRD and EDS. To synthesize the YBCO, we used Nitrate of metal (Y, Ba, Cu) as precursor. stoichiometric (1:2:3) amount of metal nitrate were solved in distilled water and mixed with constant stirring, (for each equivalent gram of metal nitrate add one equivalent gram of citric acid) and stirred up to have unclear light blue solution and the ethylendiamine was added drop wise to adjust pH from 4.56 to 7.45. Then the solution was heated up 80 C to achieve viscous gel. The color changed from dark blue to purple according to pH. The gel was heated on furnace up to 520 C and kept for 2 hours. During heating the gel swell and filled the baker then special attention is needed to use over sized baker. Obtained powder was calcined for 22h at 900 C to yield homogeneous pure phase and then pellets with 1 sm diameter in 10 ton pressure were produced and sintered for 19 h at 930 C and annealed to room temperature in oxygen. Resistivity measurement using standard four probe technique exhibit Tc (zero) from 90 K to 94 K. The samples were discussed by XRD, SEM and EDS. (authors)

  5. Structural and magnetic properties of sol-gel derived CaFe2O4 nanoparticles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Das, Arnab Kumar; Govindaraj, Ramanujan; Srinivasan, Ananthakrishnan

    2018-04-01

    Calcium ferrite nanoparticles with average crystallite size of ∼11 nm have been synthesized by sol-gel method by mixing calcium and ferric nitrates in stoichiometric ratio in the presence of ethylene glycol. As-synthesized nanoparticles were annealed at different temperatures and their structural and magnetic properties have been evaluated. X-ray diffraction studies showed that unlike most ferrites, as-synthesized cubic calcium ferrite showed a slow transformation to orthorhombic structure when annealed above 400 °C. Single phase orthorhombic CaFe2O4 was obtained upon annealing at 1100 °C. Divergence of zero field cooled and field cooled magnetization curves at low temperatures indicated superparamagnetic behavior in cubic calcium ferrite particles. Superparamagnetism persisted in cubic samples annealed up to 500 °C. As-synthesized nanoparticles heat treated at 1100 °C exhibited mixed characteristics of antiferromagnetic and paramagnetic grains with saturation magnetization of 0.4 emu/g whereas nanoparticles calcined at 400 °C exhibited superparamagnetic characteristics with saturation magnetization of 22.92 emu/g. An antiferromagnetic to paramagnetic transition was observed between 170 and 190 K in the sample annealed at 1100 °C, which was further confirmed by Mössbauer studies carried out at different temperatures across the transition.

  6. Large-Scale Cubic-Scaling Random Phase Approximation Correlation Energy Calculations Using a Gaussian Basis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilhelm, Jan; Seewald, Patrick; Del Ben, Mauro; Hutter, Jürg

    2016-12-13

    We present an algorithm for computing the correlation energy in the random phase approximation (RPA) in a Gaussian basis requiring [Formula: see text] operations and [Formula: see text] memory. The method is based on the resolution of the identity (RI) with the overlap metric, a reformulation of RI-RPA in the Gaussian basis, imaginary time, and imaginary frequency integration techniques, and the use of sparse linear algebra. Additional memory reduction without extra computations can be achieved by an iterative scheme that overcomes the memory bottleneck of canonical RPA implementations. We report a massively parallel implementation that is the key for the application to large systems. Finally, cubic-scaling RPA is applied to a thousand water molecules using a correlation-consistent triple-ζ quality basis.

  7. Pirfenidone gel in patients with localized scleroderma: a phase II study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodríguez-Castellanos, Marco; Tlacuilo-Parra, Alberto; Sánchez-Enríquez, Sergio; Vélez-Gómez, Ezequiel; Guevara-Gutiérrez, Elizabeth

    2015-01-28

    Localized scleroderma is an inflammatory disease in its first stages and a fibrotic process in later stages, principally mediated by the transforming growth factor β. To date, there is no standard treatment. The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness and safety of 8% pirfenidone gel in patients with localized scleroderma. This was an open phase II clinical trial that included 12 patients. Treatment with pirfenidone was indicated, three times daily for 6 months. Patients were evaluated clinically with the modified Localized Scleroderma Skin Severity Index (mLoSSI), as well with a durometer and histologically using hematoxylin and eosin stain and Masson's trichrome stain. The baseline mLoSSI average scores were 5.83 ± 4.80 vs. 0.83 ± 1.75 (P = 0.002) at 6 months. The initial durometer induration of the scleroderma plaques was 35.79 ± 9.10 vs. 32.47 ± 8.97 at 6 months (P = 0.05). We observed histopathological improvement with respect to epidermal atrophy, inflammation, dermal or adipose tissue fibrosis and annex atrophy from 12.25 ± 3.25 to 9.75 ± 4.35 (P = 0.032). The 8% pirfenidone gel application was well tolerated, and no side effects were detected. This is the first study on the therapeutic use of pirfenidone gel in localized scleroderma. It acts on both the inflammatory and the fibrotic phases. Considering its effectiveness, good safety profile and the advantage of topical application, pirfenidone is a treatment option in this condition.

  8. Direct Visualisation of the Structural Transformation between the Lyotropic Liquid Crystalline Lamellar and Bicontinuous Cubic Mesophase.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tran, Nhiem; Zhai, Jiali; Conn, Charlotte E; Mulet, Xavier; Waddington, Lynne J; Drummond, Calum J

    2018-05-29

    The transition between the lyotropic liquid crystalline lamellar and the bicontinuous cubic mesophase drives multiple fundamental cellular processes involving changes in cell membrane topology including endocytosis and membrane budding. While several theoretical models have been proposed to explain this dynamic transformation, experimental validation of these models has been challenging due to the short lived nature of the intermediates present during the phase transition. Herein, we report the direct observation of a lamellar to bicontinuous cubic phase transition in nanoscale dispersions using a combination of cryogenic transmission electron microscopy and static small angle X-ray scattering. The results represent the first experimental confirmation of a theoretical model which proposed that the bicontinuous cubic phase originates from the centre of a lamellar vesicle, then propagates outward via the formation of inter-lamellar attachments and stalks. The observation was possible due to the precise control of the lipid composition to place the dispersion systems at the phase boundary of a lamellar and a cubic phase, allowing for the creation of long-lived structural intermediates. By surveying the nanoparticles using cryogenic transmission electron microscopy, a complete phase transition sequence was established.

  9. On the mechanical stability of the body-centered cubic phase and the emergence of a metastable cI16 phase in classical hard sphere solids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warshavsky, Vadim B.; Ford, David M.; Monson, Peter A.

    2018-01-01

    The stability of the body-centered cubic (bcc) solid phase of classical hard spheres is of intrinsic interest and is also relevant to the development of perturbation theories for bcc solids of other model systems. Using canonical ensemble Monte Carlo, we simulated systems initialized in a perfect bcc lattice at various densities in the solid region. We observed that the systems rapidly evolved into one of four structures that then persisted for the duration of the simulation. Remarkably, one of these structures was identified as cI16, a cubic crystalline structure with 16 particles in the unit cell, which has recently been observed experimentally in lithium and sodium solids at high pressures. The other three structures do not exhibit crystalline order but are characterized by common patterns in the radial distribution function and bond-orientational order parameter distribution; we refer to them as bcc-di, with i ranging from 1 to 3. We found similar outcomes when employing any of the three single occupancy cell (SOC) restrictions commonly used in the literature. We also ran long constant-pressure simulations with box shape fluctuations initiated from bcc and cI16 initial configurations. At lower pressures, all the systems evolved to defective face-centered cubic (fcc) or hexagonal close-packed (hcp) structures. At higher pressures, most of the systems initiated as bcc evolved to cI16 with some evolving to defective fcc/hcp. High pressure systems initiated from cI16 remained in that structure. We computed the chemical potential of cI16 using the Einstein crystal reference method and found that it is higher than that of fcc by ˜0.5kT-2.5kT over the pressure range studied, with the difference increasing with pressure. We find that the undistorted bcc solid, even with constant-volume and SOC restrictions applied, is so mechanically unstable that it is unsuitable for consideration as a metastable phase or as a reference system for studying bcc phases of other systems

  10. Understanding crumpling lipid vesicles at the gel phase transition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hirst, Linda; Ossowski, Adam; Fraser, Matthew

    2011-03-01

    Wrinkling and crumpling transitions in different membrane types have been studied extensively in recent years both theoretically and computationally. There has also been very interesting recent work on defects in liquid crystalline shells. Lipid bilayer vesicles, widely used in biophysical research can be considered as a single layer smectic shell in the liquid crystalline phase. On cooling the lipid vesicle a transition to the gel phase may take place in which the lipid chains tilt and assume a more ordered packing arrangement. We observe large scale morphological changes in vesicles close to this transition point using fluorescence microscopy and investigate the possible mechanisms for this transition. Confocal microscopy is used to map 3D vesicle shape and crumpling length-scales. We also employ the molecular tilt sensitive dye, Laurdan to investigate the role of tilt domain formation on macroscopic structure. Funded by NSF CAREER award (DMR - BMAT #0852791).

  11. Dehydration and crystallization kinetics of zirconia-yttria gels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ramanathan, S.; Muraleedharan, R.V.; Roy, S.K.; Nayar, P.K.K.

    1995-01-01

    Zirconia and zirconia-yttria gels containing 4 and 8 mol% yttria were obtained by coprecipitation and drying at 373 K. The dehydration and crystallization behavior of the dried gels was studied by DSC, TG, and XRD. The gels undergo elimination of water over a wide temperature range of 373--673 K. The peak temperature of the endotherm corresponding to dehydration and the kinetic constants for the process were not influenced by the yttria content of the gel. The enthalpy of dehydration observed was in good agreement with the heat of vaporization data. The dehydration was followed by a sharp exothermic crystallization process. The peak temperature of the exotherm and the activation energy of the process increased with an increase in yttria content, while the enthalpy of crystallization showed a decrease. The ''glow effect'' reduced with increasing yttria content. Pure zirconia crystallizes in the tetragonal form while the zirconia containing 4 and 8 mol% yttria appears to crystallize in the cubic form

  12. Low temperature formation of higher-k cubic phase HfO2 by atomic layer deposition on GeOx/Ge structures fabricated by in-situ thermal oxidation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, R.; Huang, P.-C.; Taoka, N.; Yokoyama, M.; Takenaka, M.; Takagi, S.

    2016-01-01

    We have demonstrated a low temperature formation (300 °C) of higher-k HfO 2 using atomic layer deposition (ALD) on an in-situ thermal oxidation GeO x interfacial layer. It is found that the cubic phase is dominant in the HfO 2 film with an epitaxial-like growth behavior. The maximum permittivity of 42 is obtained for an ALD HfO 2 film on a 1-nm-thick GeO x form by the in-situ thermal oxidation. It is suggested from physical analyses that the crystallization of cubic phase HfO 2 can be induced by the formation of six-fold crystalline GeO x structures in the underlying GeO x interfacial layer

  13. Cubic liquid crystalline nanoparticles containing a polysaccharide from Ulva fasciata with potent antihyperlipidaemic activity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Azza A. Matloub

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available The present study involves the preparation of cubic liquid crystalline nanoparticles (cubsomes for liver targeting to assess the potential of a formulated bioactive polysaccharide isolated from the hot aqueous extract of Ulva fasciata as an alternative natural agent with anti-hyperlipidaemic activity. Cubosomal nanoparticles were prepared by disrupting the cubic gel phase of the polysaccharide and water in the presence of a surfactant. Different lipid matrices and stabilizers were tested. All the formulations were in the nanosize range and showed sufficient negative charge to inhibit the aggregation of the cubosomes. Drug entrapment efficiencies (EEs% were determined and in vitro release studies were performed. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM and differential scanning calorimetry were used to analyze the loaded cubosomal nanoparticles containing glyceryl monostearate (GMO 2.25 g, poloxamer 407 (0.25 g and 50 mg of the polysaccharide. A preclinical study comparing the cubic liquid crystalline nanoparticles containing polysaccharide to fluvastatin as a reference drug in hyperlipidaemic rats was conducted. The rats treated with the polysaccharide- loaded cubosomes showed significant decreases in total cholesterol (TC, triglycerides (TG and total lipid (TL compared to the untreated HL rats. In addition, oxidative stress and antioxidant biomarkers were measured in the HL rats. Compared to the untreated HL rats, the cubosome treated rats showed a significant reduction in malondialdehyde (MDA, whereas insignificant changes were detected in nitric oxide (NO, glutathione (GSH levels and total antioxidant capacity (TAC. Further, vascular and intercellular adhesion molecules (VCAM, ICAM, and myeloperoxidase were demonstrated. A histopathological examination was conducted to study the alterations in histopathological lesions and to document the biochemical results. In conclusion, this study demonstrates the superiority of using a natural lipid

  14. In vitro activity of Aloe vera inner gel against microorganisms grown in planktonic and sessile phases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cataldi, V; Di Bartolomeo, S; Di Campli, E; Nostro, A; Cellini, L; Di Giulio, M

    2015-12-01

    The failure of traditional antimicrobial treatments is becoming a worldwide problem. The use of Aloe vera is of particular interest for its role as curative agent and its efficacy in complementary therapies for a variety of illnesses. This study evaluated the antimicrobial activity of A. vera inner gel against a panel of microorganisms, Gram-positive and -negative bacteria, and Candida albicans. In addition to A. vera inner gel being used in the treatment of peptic ulcers, in dermatological treatments, and wound healing, it was also tested on the sessile phase of clinical Helicobacter pylori strains (including multi-drug-resistant strains) and on planktonic and sessile phase of Staphylococcus aureus/Pseudomonas aeruginosa clinical isolates from venous leg ulcers.A. vera inner gel expresses its prevalent activity against Gram-negative bacteria and C. albicans in respect to Gram-positive bacteria. The results of the A. vera antibiofilm activity showed a decrease of the produced biomass in a concentration-dependent-way, in each analyzed microorganism. The data obtained show that A. vera inner gel has both an antimicrobial and antibiofilm activity suggesting its potential use for the treatment of microbial infections, in particular for H. pylori gastric infection, especially in case of multi-drug-resistance, as well as for an effective wound dressing. © The Author(s) 2015.

  15. Preparation of chitosan-graft-(β-cyclodextrin) based sol-gel stationary phase for open-tubular capillary electrochromatography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lü, Haixia; Li, Qingyin; Yu, Xiaowei; Yi, Jiaojiao; Xie, Zenghong

    2013-07-01

    A novel open-tubular CEC column coated with chitosan-graft-(β-CD) (CDCS) was prepared using sol-gel technique. In the sol-gel approach, owing to the 3D network of sol-gel and the strong chemical bond between the stationary phase and the surface of capillary columns, good chromatographic characteristics and unique selectivity in separating isomers were shown. The column efficiencies of 55,000∼163,000 plates/m for the isomeric xanthopterin and phenoxy acid herbicides using the sol-gel-derived CDCS columns were achieved. Good stabilities were demonstrated that the RSD values for the retention time of thiourea and isoxanthopterin were 1.3 and 1.4% (run to run, n = 5), 1.6 and 2.0% (day to day, n = 3), 2.9 and 3.1% (column to column, n = 3), respectively. The sol-gel-coated CDCS columns have shown improved separations of isomeric xanthopterin in comparison with CDCS-bonded capillary column. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  16. Application of the cubic-plus-association (CPA) equation of state to model the fluid phase behaviour of binary mixtures of water and tetrahydrofuran

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Herslund, Peter Jørgensen; Thomsen, Kaj; Abildskov, Jens

    2013-01-01

    The complex fluid phase behaviour, of the binary system comprised of water and tetrahydrofuran (THF) is modelled by use of the cubic-plus-association (CPA) equation of state. A total of seven modelling approaches are analysed, differing only in their way of describing THF and its interactions...

  17. Phase equilibria and thermodynamic modeling of ethane and propane hydrates in porous silica gels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seo, Yongwon; Lee, Seungmin; Cha, Inuk; Lee, Ju Dong; Lee, Huen

    2009-04-23

    In the present study, we examined the active role of porous silica gels when used as natural gas storage and transportation media. We adopted the dispersed water in silica gel pores to substantially enhance active surface for contacting and encaging gas molecules. We measured the three-phase hydrate (H)-water-rich liquid (L(W))-vapor (V) equilibria of C(2)H(6) and C(3)H(8) hydrates in 6.0, 15.0, 30.0, and 100.0 nm silica gel pores to investigate the effect of geometrical constraints on gas hydrate phase equilibria. At specified temperatures, the hydrate stability region is shifted to a higher pressure region depending on pore size when compared with those of bulk hydrates. Through application of the Gibbs-Thomson relationship to the experimental data, we determined the values for the C(2)H(6) hydrate-water and C(3)H(8) hydrate-water interfacial tensions to be 39 +/- 2 and 45 +/- 1 mJ/m(2), respectively. By using these values, the calculation values were in good agreement with the experimental ones. The overall results given in this study could also be quite useful in various fields, such as exploitation of natural gas hydrate in marine sediments and sequestration of carbon dioxide into the deep ocean.

  18. Cubical local partial orders on cubically subdivided spaces - existence and construction

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fajstrup, Lisbeth

    The geometric models of Higher Dimensional Automata and Dijkstra's PV-model are cubically subdivided topological spaces with a local partial order. If a cubicalization of a topological space is free of immersed cubic Möbius bands, then there are consistent choices of direction in all cubes, such ...... that the underlying geometry of an HDA may be quite complicated....

  19. Cubical local partial orders on cubically subdivided spaces - Existence and construction

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fajstrup, Lisbeth

    2006-01-01

    The geometric models of higher dimensional automata (HDA) and Dijkstra's PV-model are cubically subdivided topological spaces with a local partial order. If a cubicalization of a topological space is free of immersed cubic Möbius bands, then there are consistent choices of direction in all cubes...... that the underlying geometry of an HDA may be quite complicated....

  20. Matrix molecularly imprinted mesoporous sol–gel sorbent for efficient solid-phase extraction of chloramphenicol from milk

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Samanidou, Victoria; Kehagia, Maria; Kabir, Abuzar; Furton, Kenneth G.

    2016-01-01

    Highly selective and efficient chloramphenicol imprinted sol–gel silica based inorganic polymeric sorbent (sol–gel MIP) was synthesized via matrix imprinting approach for the extraction of chloramphenicol in milk. Chloramphenicol was used as the template molecule, 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (3-APTES) and triethoxyphenylsilane (TEPS) as the functional precursors, tetramethyl orthosilicate (TMOS) as the cross-linker, isopropanol as the solvent/porogen, and HCl as the sol–gel catalyst. Non-imprinted sol–gel polymer (sol–gel NIP) was synthesized under identical conditions in absence of template molecules for comparison purpose. Both synthesized materials were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) and nitrogen adsorption porosimetry, which unambiguously confirmed their significant structural and morphological differences. The synthesized MIP and NIP materials were evaluated as sorbents for molecularly imprinted solid phase extraction (MISPE) of chloramphenicol in milk. The effect of critical extraction parameters (flow rate, elution solvent, sample and eluent volume, selectivity coefficient, retention capacity) was studied in terms of retention and desorption of chloramphenicol. Competition and cross reactivity tests have proved that sol–gel MIP sorbent possesses significantly higher specific retention and enrichment capacity for chloramphenicol compared to its non-imprinted analogue. The maximum imprinting factor (IF) was found as 9.7, whereas the highest adsorption capacity of chloramphenicol by sol–gel MIP was 23 mg/g. The sol–gel MIP was found to be adequately selective towards chloramphenicol to provide the necessary minimum required performance limit (MRPL) of 0.3 μg/kg set forth by European Commission after analysis by LC-MS even without requiring time consuming solvent evaporation and sample reconstitution step, often considered as an integral part in solid phase extraction work

  1. Matrix molecularly imprinted mesoporous sol–gel sorbent for efficient solid-phase extraction of chloramphenicol from milk

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Samanidou, Victoria, E-mail: samanidu@chem.auth.gr [Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece); Kehagia, Maria [Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece); Kabir, Abuzar, E-mail: akabir@fiu.edu [International Forensic Research Institute, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida International University, Miami, FL (United States); Furton, Kenneth G. [International Forensic Research Institute, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida International University, Miami, FL (United States)

    2016-03-31

    Highly selective and efficient chloramphenicol imprinted sol–gel silica based inorganic polymeric sorbent (sol–gel MIP) was synthesized via matrix imprinting approach for the extraction of chloramphenicol in milk. Chloramphenicol was used as the template molecule, 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (3-APTES) and triethoxyphenylsilane (TEPS) as the functional precursors, tetramethyl orthosilicate (TMOS) as the cross-linker, isopropanol as the solvent/porogen, and HCl as the sol–gel catalyst. Non-imprinted sol–gel polymer (sol–gel NIP) was synthesized under identical conditions in absence of template molecules for comparison purpose. Both synthesized materials were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) and nitrogen adsorption porosimetry, which unambiguously confirmed their significant structural and morphological differences. The synthesized MIP and NIP materials were evaluated as sorbents for molecularly imprinted solid phase extraction (MISPE) of chloramphenicol in milk. The effect of critical extraction parameters (flow rate, elution solvent, sample and eluent volume, selectivity coefficient, retention capacity) was studied in terms of retention and desorption of chloramphenicol. Competition and cross reactivity tests have proved that sol–gel MIP sorbent possesses significantly higher specific retention and enrichment capacity for chloramphenicol compared to its non-imprinted analogue. The maximum imprinting factor (IF) was found as 9.7, whereas the highest adsorption capacity of chloramphenicol by sol–gel MIP was 23 mg/g. The sol–gel MIP was found to be adequately selective towards chloramphenicol to provide the necessary minimum required performance limit (MRPL) of 0.3 μg/kg set forth by European Commission after analysis by LC-MS even without requiring time consuming solvent evaporation and sample reconstitution step, often considered as an integral part in solid phase extraction work

  2. Hardness and thermal stability of cubic silicon nitride

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jiang, Jianzhong; Kragh, Flemming; Frost, D. J.

    2001-01-01

    The hardness and thermal stability of cubic spinel silicon nitride (c-Si3N4), synthesized under high-pressure and high-temperature conditions, have been studied by microindentation measurements, and x-ray powder diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, respectively The phase at ambient...

  3. Study of hafnium (IV) oxide nanoparticles synthesized by polymerized complex and polymer precursor derived sol-gel methods

    KAUST Repository

    Ramos-Gonzá lez, R.; Garcí a-Cerda, L. A.; Alshareef, Husam N.; Gnade, Bruce E.; Quevedo-Ló pez, Manuel Angel Quevedo

    2010-01-01

    This work reports the preparation and characterization of hafnium (IV) oxide (HfO2) nanoparticles grown by derived sol-gel routes that involves the formation of an organic polymeric network. A comparison between polymerized complex (PC) and polymer precursor (PP) methods is presented. For the PC method, citric acid (CA) and ethylene glycol (EG) are used as the chelating and polymerizable reagents, respectively. In the case of PP method, poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) is used as the chelating reagent. In both cases, different precursor gels were prepared and the hafnium (IV) chloride (HfCl4) molar ratio was varied from 0.1 to 1.0 for the PC method and from 0.05 to 0.5 for the PP method. In order to obtain the nanoparticles, the precursors were heat treated at 500 and 800 °C. The thermal characterization of the precursor gels was carried out by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and the structural and morphological characterization by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The XRD patterns of the samples obtained by both methods shows the formation of HfO2 at 500 °C with monoclinic crystalline phase. The PC method exhibited also the cubic phase. Finally, the HfO2 nanoparticles size (4 to 11 nm) was determined by TEM and XRD patterns. © (2010) Trans Tech Publications.

  4. Study of hafnium (IV) oxide nanoparticles synthesized by polymerized complex and polymer precursor derived sol-gel methods

    KAUST Repository

    Ramos-González, R.

    2010-03-01

    This work reports the preparation and characterization of hafnium (IV) oxide (HfO2) nanoparticles grown by derived sol-gel routes that involves the formation of an organic polymeric network. A comparison between polymerized complex (PC) and polymer precursor (PP) methods is presented. For the PC method, citric acid (CA) and ethylene glycol (EG) are used as the chelating and polymerizable reagents, respectively. In the case of PP method, poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) is used as the chelating reagent. In both cases, different precursor gels were prepared and the hafnium (IV) chloride (HfCl4) molar ratio was varied from 0.1 to 1.0 for the PC method and from 0.05 to 0.5 for the PP method. In order to obtain the nanoparticles, the precursors were heat treated at 500 and 800 °C. The thermal characterization of the precursor gels was carried out by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and the structural and morphological characterization by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The XRD patterns of the samples obtained by both methods shows the formation of HfO2 at 500 °C with monoclinic crystalline phase. The PC method exhibited also the cubic phase. Finally, the HfO2 nanoparticles size (4 to 11 nm) was determined by TEM and XRD patterns. © (2010) Trans Tech Publications.

  5. Gas-phase acylation of aminopropyl-silica gel in the synthesis of some chemically bonded silica materials for analytical applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Basiuk, Vladimir; Khil'chevskaya, E.G.

    1991-01-01

    Gas-phase acylation of aminopropyl-silica gel with aliphatic dicarboxylic (succinic, adipic and sebacic) and 4-aminobenzoic acids is proposed as a rapid and efficient one-step method for the synthesis of carboxyalkyl- and 4-aminophenylamidopropyl-silica gels, usually used as zwitterion exchangers for liquid chromatography and matrices for multi-step syntheses of silica-bound aromatic azo reagents for the sorption and chromatographic separation of metal ions. Acylation degrees of 59-90% are achieved after 0.5 h. IR spectra of the acylation products and near-UV-visible spectra for bonded aromatic azo compounds, based on 4-aminobenzamidopropyl-silica gel, are presented. Some positive and negative aspects of the gas-phase acylation are discussed. (author). 34 refs.; 2 figs.; 2 tabs

  6. Plasma deposition of cubic boron nitride films from non-toxic material at low temperatures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Karim, M.Z.; Cameron, D.C.; Murphy, M.J.; Hashmi, M.S.J.

    1991-01-01

    Boron nitride has become the focus of a considerable amount of interest because of its properties which relate closely to those of carbon. In particular, the cubic nitride phase has extreme hardness and very high thermal conductivity similar to the properties of diamond. The conventional methods of synthesis use the highly toxic and inflammable gas diborane (B 2 H 6 ) as the reactant material. A study has been made of the deposition of thin films of boron nitride (BN) using non-toxic material by the plasma-assisted chemical vapour deposition technique. The source material was borane-ammonia (BH 3 -NH 3 ) which is a crystalline solid at room temperature with a high vapour pressure. The BH 3 -NH 3 vapour was decomposed in a 13.56 MHz nitrogen plasma coupled either inductively or capacitively with the system. The composition of the films was assessed by measuring their IR absorption when deposited on silicon and KBr substrates. The hexagonal (graphitic) and cubic (diamond-like) allotropes can be distinguished by their characteristic absorption bands which occur at 1365 and 780 cm -1 (hexagonal) and 1070 cm -1 (cubic). We have deposited BN films consisting of a mixture of hexagonal and cubic phases; the relative content of the cubic phase was found to be directly dependent on r.f. power and substrate bias. (orig.)

  7. Regenerated silica gel as stationary phase on vacuum column chromatography to purify temulawak’s extracts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cahyono, Bambang; Maduwu, Ratna Dewi; Widayat,; Suzery, Meiny

    2015-01-01

    Commercial silica gel only used once by many researchers and affected high cost for purification process, also less support the green chemistry program. This research focused in regeneration silica gel that used purification of temulawak’s extracts (Curcuma xanthorrhiza Roxb) by vacuum column chromatography. Sample extracts (contains 10.1195±0.5971% of curcuminoids) was purified by vacuum column chromatography (pressure: 45 kPa, column: 100mm on length and 16mm on diameter). Ethanol 96% and acetone were compared as eluent. The amount of solvent and yield of curcuminoids used as indicator purification. The silica gel was regenerated with heating in 600°C for 8 hours The silica gels were analyzed by IR spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. Furthermore, regenerated silica gel was used as the stationary phase in vacuum column chromatography under the same conditions with the previous purification. All the purification experiments were performed in three repetitions. Based on regression equation, y=0.132x+0.0011 (r 2 =0.9997) the yield of curcuminoids on purified products using ethanol as the eluent was improved 4.26% (to 14.3724±0.5749%) and by acetone was improved 3,03% (to 13.1450 ±0.6318%). The IR spectrum of both silica gel showed the same vibration profile and also there were three crystallinity peaks missing on its X-ray diffraction. Regenerated silica gel has the same performance with new silica gel in purification of temulawak’s extract: by ethanol has increased 4.08% (14.1947±0.7415%) and 2.93% (13.0447±0.4822) by acetone. In addition, all purification products showed similar TLC profiles. Purification using regenerated silica gel as the adsorbent on vacuum column chromatography has exactly same potential with the new silica gel

  8. Regenerated silica gel as stationary phase on vacuum column chromatography to purify temulawak’s extracts

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cahyono, Bambang; Maduwu, Ratna Dewi; Widayat,; Suzery, Meiny [Organic Chemistry Laboratory, Departement of Chemistry, Diponegoro University Jln Prof. Soedharto SH, Tembalang, Semarang 50275, Indonesia Tel / Fax: (024) 7460058 (Indonesia)

    2015-12-29

    Commercial silica gel only used once by many researchers and affected high cost for purification process, also less support the green chemistry program. This research focused in regeneration silica gel that used purification of temulawak’s extracts (Curcuma xanthorrhiza Roxb) by vacuum column chromatography. Sample extracts (contains 10.1195±0.5971% of curcuminoids) was purified by vacuum column chromatography (pressure: 45 kPa, column: 100mm on length and 16mm on diameter). Ethanol 96% and acetone were compared as eluent. The amount of solvent and yield of curcuminoids used as indicator purification. The silica gel was regenerated with heating in 600°C for 8 hours The silica gels were analyzed by IR spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. Furthermore, regenerated silica gel was used as the stationary phase in vacuum column chromatography under the same conditions with the previous purification. All the purification experiments were performed in three repetitions. Based on regression equation, y=0.132x+0.0011 (r{sup 2}=0.9997) the yield of curcuminoids on purified products using ethanol as the eluent was improved 4.26% (to 14.3724±0.5749%) and by acetone was improved 3,03% (to 13.1450 ±0.6318%). The IR spectrum of both silica gel showed the same vibration profile and also there were three crystallinity peaks missing on its X-ray diffraction. Regenerated silica gel has the same performance with new silica gel in purification of temulawak’s extract: by ethanol has increased 4.08% (14.1947±0.7415%) and 2.93% (13.0447±0.4822) by acetone. In addition, all purification products showed similar TLC profiles. Purification using regenerated silica gel as the adsorbent on vacuum column chromatography has exactly same potential with the new silica gel.

  9. Spectroellipsometric study of the sol-gel nanocrystalline ITO multilayer films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stoica, T.F.; Gartner, M.; Losurdo, M.; Teodorescu, V.; Blanchin, M.; Stoica, T.; Zaharescu, M

    2004-05-01

    Tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) thin films have been deposited by sol-gel process using 'sols' of indium and tin isopropoxides. The thickness of one deposited ITO layer is approximately 50 nm. The desired thickness was obtained by 1-5 successive depositions. The XTEM cross-sectional view of an ITO sample with five depositions showed a clear delimitation of the layers with an alternating structure dense/porous ITO layers. The void fraction in porous regions varies between 20 and 25%. Cubic bixbyite In{sub 2}O{sub 3} nanocrystals with size of 10-20 nm and no phases separation of tin oxide were observed. The optical properties of the films have been investigated by optical transmission and spectroscopic ellipsometry. Reliable optical constants and porosity are obtained only with the model of internal structure based on XTEM results.

  10. Epidemic models for phase transitions: application to a physical gel

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bilge, A. H.; Pekcan, O.; Kara, S.; Ogrenci, A. S.

    2017-09-01

    Carrageenan gels are characterized by reversible sol-gel and gel-sol transitions under cooling and heating processes and these transitions are approximated by generalized logistic growth curves. We express the transitions of carrageenan-water system, as a representative of reversible physical gels, in terms of a modified Susceptible-Infected-Susceptible epidemic model, as opposed to the Susceptible-Infected-Removed model used to represent the (irreversible) chemical gel formation in the previous work. We locate the gel point Tc of sol-gel and gel-sol transitions and we find that, for the sol-gel transition (cooling), Tc > Tsg (transition temperature), i.e. Tc is earlier in time for all carrageenan contents and moves forward in time and gets closer to Tsg as the carrageenan content increases. For the gel-sol transition (heating), Tc is relatively closer to Tgs; it is greater than Tgs, i.e. later in time for low carrageenan contents and moves backward as carrageenan content increases.

  11. Physical vapor deposition of cubic boron nitride thin films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kester, D.J.

    1991-01-01

    Cubic boron nitride was successfully deposited using physical vapor-deposition methods. RF-sputtering, magnetron sputtering, dual-ion-beam deposition, and ion-beam-assisted evaporation were all used. The ion-assisted evaporation, using boron evaporation and bombardment by nitrogen and argon ions, led to successful cubic boron nitride growth over the widest and most controllable range of conditions. It was found that two factors were important for c-BN growth: bombardment of the growing film and the presence of argon. A systematic study of the deposition conditions was carried out. It was found that the value of momentum transferred into the growing from by the bombarding ions was critical. There was a very narrow transition range in which mixed cubic and hexagonal phase films were prepared. Momentum-per-atom value took into account all the variables involved in ion-assisted deposition: deposition rate, ion energy, ion flux, and ion species. No other factor led to the same control of the process. The role of temperature was also studied; it was found that at low temperatures only mixed cubic and hexagonal material are deposited

  12. Production and characterization of monocrystals of the cubic Laves phases Se-Al2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beyss, M.; Uelhoff, W.; Fattah, A.

    1977-04-01

    The monocrystals of the cubic Laves phases Se-Al 2 have been produced for special measurements. Low-temperature anomalies were measured which were influenced by doping with foreign atoms. These anomalies, also called Kondo effect, were detected in some physical quantities like electric resistance, magnetic resistance, susceptibility, magnetization, specific heat, thermal conductivity and thermoelectric force. For diffuse magnetic neutron scattering, monocrystals with the dimensions 10 mm diameter and 70 mm length were produced. The materials used were La Al 2 , (La Ce) Al 2 , Ce Al 2 , Y Al 2 , and (Y Ce) Al 2 . The monocrystals had to have an exactly cylindrical cross-section which was obtained by stripping by means of spark erosion machines. The measurements were carried out at the reactor of the Laue-Langevin Institute at Grenoble. In the experiments the magnetic behavior was measured by neutron scattering on monocrystals in the temperature range from 2.5 K to 300 K, the energy spectra having been registered. (orig.) [de

  13. Visualization of membrane protein crystals in lipid cubic phase using X-ray imaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warren, Anna J; Armour, Wes; Axford, Danny; Basham, Mark; Connolley, Thomas; Hall, David R; Horrell, Sam; McAuley, Katherine E; Mykhaylyk, Vitaliy; Wagner, Armin; Evans, Gwyndaf

    2013-07-01

    The focus in macromolecular crystallography is moving towards even more challenging target proteins that often crystallize on much smaller scales and are frequently mounted in opaque or highly refractive materials. It is therefore essential that X-ray beamline technology develops in parallel to accommodate such difficult samples. In this paper, the use of X-ray microradiography and microtomography is reported as a tool for crystal visualization, location and characterization on the macromolecular crystallography beamlines at the Diamond Light Source. The technique is particularly useful for microcrystals and for crystals mounted in opaque materials such as lipid cubic phase. X-ray diffraction raster scanning can be used in combination with radiography to allow informed decision-making at the beamline prior to diffraction data collection. It is demonstrated that the X-ray dose required for a full tomography measurement is similar to that for a diffraction grid-scan, but for sample location and shape estimation alone just a few radiographic projections may be required.

  14. Phase diagram of the Blume-Emery-Griffiths model on the simple cubic lattice calculated by the linear chain approximation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Albayrak, Erhan; Keskin, Mustafa

    2000-01-01

    The linear chain approximation is used to study the temperature dependence of the order parameters and the phase diagrams of the Blume-Emery-Griffiths model on the simple cubic lattice with dipole-dipole, quadrupole-quadrupole coupling strengths and a crystal-field interaction. The problem is approached introducing first a trial one-dimensional Hamiltonian whose free energy can be calculated exactly by the transfer matrix method. Then using the Bogoliubov variational principle, the free energy of the model is determined. It is assumed that the dipolar and quadrupolar intrachain coupling constants are much stronger than the corresponding interchain constants and confined the attention to the case of nearest-neighbor interactions. The phase transitions are examined and the phase diagrams are obtained for several values of the coupling strengths in the three different planes. A comparison with other approximate techniques is also made

  15. Phase diagram of the Blume-Emery-Griffiths model on the simple cubic lattice calculated by the linear chain approximation

    CERN Document Server

    Albayrak, E

    2000-01-01

    The linear chain approximation is used to study the temperature dependence of the order parameters and the phase diagrams of the Blume-Emery-Griffiths model on the simple cubic lattice with dipole-dipole, quadrupole-quadrupole coupling strengths and a crystal-field interaction. The problem is approached introducing first a trial one-dimensional Hamiltonian whose free energy can be calculated exactly by the transfer matrix method. Then using the Bogoliubov variational principle, the free energy of the model is determined. It is assumed that the dipolar and quadrupolar intrachain coupling constants are much stronger than the corresponding interchain constants and confined the attention to the case of nearest-neighbor interactions. The phase transitions are examined and the phase diagrams are obtained for several values of the coupling strengths in the three different planes. A comparison with other approximate techniques is also made.

  16. Enhanced lithium-ion storage performance by structural phase transition from two-dimensional rhombohedral Fe_2O_3 to cubic Fe_3O_4

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ren, Yurong; Wang, Jiawei; Huang, Xiaobing; Ding, Jianning

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • The rhombohedral Fe_2O_3 transforms to the cubic Fe_3O_4 via a calcination treatment. • Phase structure of anodes has great influences on their electrochemical performances. • Fe_3O_4/reduced graphene oxide shows a high capacity of 825.3 mAh g"−"1 at 50 mA g"−"1. - Abstract: The electrochemical performance of a material varies with its structural phase transition. It is found that the rhombohedral Fe_2O_3 can transform to the cubic Fe_3O_4 via a calcination treatment in a nitrogen atmosphere, and lithium-ion storage performances of Fe_3O_4 get an obvious improvement due to its structural advantages. On the basis of data calculated by X-ray diffraction, the larger unit cell volume as well as the higher void fraction of cubic Fe_3O_4 provides lithium-ions with more transport channels for Li ions diffusion and storage without serious volume change, and thus the cubic Fe_3O_4 delivers an excellent reversible capacity of 921.1 mAh g"−"1 after 15 cycles at the current density of 50 mA g"−"1, which is much higher than 328.3 mAh g"−"1 for the rhombohedral Fe_2O_3. To further enhance the structural stability of electrodes, reduced graphene oxide is introduced. The Fe_3O_4/reduced graphene oxide show an excellent specific capacity of 825.3 mAh g"−"1 after 40 cycles and impressive rate performance of 600 mAh g"−"1 at the current density of 400 mA g"−"1, which are much higher than that of Fe_3O_4 (417 and 300 mAh g"−"1), Fe_2O_3 (137.4 and 95 mAh g"−"1) and Fe_2O_3/reduced graphene oxide (390.1 and 480 mAh g"−"1). These results demonstrate that the structural phase transition and reduced graphene oxide of Fe_3O_4/reduced graphene oxide composites offer unique characteristics suitable for high-performance energy storage application.

  17. Metal-silica sol-gel materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stiegman, Albert E. (Inventor)

    2002-01-01

    The present invention relates to a single phase metal-silica sol-gel glass formed by the co-condensation of a transition metal with silicon atoms where the metal atoms are uniformly distributed within the sol-gel glass as individual metal centers. Any transition metal may be used in the sol-gel glasses. The present invention also relates to sensor materials where the sensor material is formed using the single phase metal-silica sol-gel glasses. The sensor materials may be in the form of a thin film or may be attached to an optical fiber. The present invention also relates to a method of sensing chemicals using the chemical sensors by monitoring the chromatic change of the metal-silica sol-gel glass when the chemical binds to the sensor. The present invention also relates to oxidation catalysts where a metal-silica sol-gel glass catalyzes the reaction. The present invention also relates to a method of performing oxidation reactions using the metal-silica sol-gel glasses. The present invention also relates to organopolymer metal-silica sol-gel composites where the pores of the metal-silica sol-gel glasses are filled with an organic polymer polymerized by the sol-gel glass.

  18. Electronic, elastic, acoustic and optical properties of cubic TiO2: A DFT approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mahmood, Tariq; Cao, Chuanbao; Tahir, Muhammad; Idrees, Faryal; Ahmed, Maqsood; Tanveer, M.; Aslam, Imran; Usman, Zahid; Ali, Zulfiqar; Hussain, Sajad

    2013-01-01

    The electronic, elastic, acoustic and optical properties of cubic phases TiO 2 fluorite and pyrite are investigated using the first principles calculations. We have employed five different exchange–correlation functions within the local density and generalized gradient approximations using the ultrasoft plane wave pseudopotential method. The calculated band structures of cubic-TiO 2 elucidate that the TiO 2 fluorite and pyrite are direct and indirect semiconductors in contrast to the previous findings. From our studied properties such as bulk and shear moduli, elastic constants C 44 and Debye temperature for TiO 2 fluorite and pyrite, we infer that both the cubic phases are not superhard materials and the pyrite phase is harder than fluorite. The longitudinal and transversal acoustic wave speeds for both phases in the directions [100], [110] and [111] are determined using the pre-calculated elastic constants. In addition, we also calculate the optical properties such as dielectric function, absorption spectrum, refractive index and energy loss function using the pre-optimized structure. On the observation of optical properties TiO 2 fluorite phase turn out to be more photocatalytic than pyrite

  19. Group theoretical treatment of the low-temperature phase transition of the Cd6Ca 1/1-cubic approximant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tamura, R.; Shibata, K.; Nishimoto, K.; Takeuchi, S.; Edagawa, K.; Saitoh, K.; Isobe, M.; Ueda, Y.

    2005-01-01

    An antiparallel orientational transition is reported for an intermetallic compound, i.e., Cd 6 Ca crystal, which is a 1/1-1/1-1/1 crystalline approximant to the icosahedral quasicrystal Cd 5.7 Ca. A group theoretical analysis based on the Landau theory predicts that the space group of the low-temperature phase is either C2/c or C2/m, in good agreement with the observations. Accordingly, two types of orientational orderings of Cd 4 tetrahedra, which are located in the center of icosahedral clusters, may occur below 100 K: In both cases, the Cd 4 tetrahedra are orientationally ordered in an antiparallel fashion along the [110] direction of the high temperature body-centered-cubic phase. Such a transition in a metal is reminiscent of orientational transitions in molecular solids

  20. Phase study of titanium dioxide nanoparticle prepared via sol-gel process

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oladeji Araoyinbo, Alaba; Bakri Abdullah, Mohd Mustafa Al; Salleh, Mohd Arif Anuar Mohd; Aziz, Nurul Nadia Abdul; Iskandar Azmi, Azwan

    2018-03-01

    In this study, titanium dioxide nanoparticles have been prepared via sol-gel process using titanium tetraisopropoxide as a precursor with hydrochloric acid as a catalyst, and ethanol with deionized water as solvents. The value of pH used is set to 3, 7 and 8. The sols obtained were dried at 100 °C for 1 hr and calcined at 350, 550, and 750 °C for 3 hrs to observe the phase transformation of titanium dioxide nanoparticle. The samples were characterized by x-ray diffraction and field emission scanning electron microscope. The morphology analysis is obtained from field emission scanning electron microscope. The phase transformation was investigated by x-ray diffraction. It was found that the pH of the solution affect the agglomeration of titanium dioxide particle. The x-ray diffraction pattern of titanium dioxide shows the anatase phase most abundant at temperature of 350 °C. At temperature of 550 °C the anatase and rutile phase were present. At temperature of 750 °C the rutile phase was the most abundant for pH 3, 7 and 8. It was confirmed that at higher temperature the rutile phase which is the stable phase are mostly present.

  1. Phase III double-blind evaluation of an aloe vera gel as a prophylactic agent for radiation-induced skin toxicity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Williams, Maureen S.; Burk, Mary; Loprinzi, Charles L.; Hill, Mary; Schomberg, Paula J.; Nearhood, Kim; O'Fallon, Judith R.; Laurie, John A.; Shanahan, Thomas G.; Moore, Randy L.; Urias, Rodolfo E.; Kuske, Robert R.; Engel, Roland E.; Eggleston, William D.

    1996-01-01

    Purpose: Considerable pilot data and clinical experience suggested that an aloe vera gel might help to prevent radiation therapy-induced dermatitis. Methods and Materials: Two Phase III randomized trials were conducted. The first one was double blinded, utilized a placebo gel, and involved 194 women receiving breast or chest wall irradiation. The second trial randomized 108 such patients to aloe vera gel vs. no treatment. Skin dermatitis was scored weekly during both trials both by patients and by health care providers. Results: Skin dermatitis scores were virtually identical on both treatment arms during both of the trials. The only toxicity from the gel was rare contact dermatitis. Conclusions: This dose and schedule of an aloe vera gel does not protect against radiation therapy-induced dermatitis

  2. A Phase 1 Randomized, Open Label, Rectal Safety, Acceptability, Pharmacokinetic, and Pharmacodynamic Study of Three Formulations of Tenofovir 1% Gel (the CHARM-01 Study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ian Mcgowan

    Full Text Available The CHARM-01 study characterized the safety, acceptability, pharmacokinetics (PK, and pharmacodynamics (PD of three tenofovir (TFV gels for rectal application. The vaginal formulation (VF gel was previously used in the CAPRISA 004 and VOICE vaginal microbicide Phase 2B trials and the RMP-02/MTN-006 Phase 1 rectal safety study. The reduced glycerin VF (RGVF gel was used in the MTN-007 Phase 1 rectal microbicide trial and is currently being evaluated in the MTN-017 Phase 2 rectal microbicide trial. A third rectal specific formulation (RF gel was also evaluated in the CHARM-01 study.Participants received 4 mL of the three TFV gels in a blinded, crossover design: seven daily doses of RGVF, seven daily doses of RF, and six daily doses of placebo followed by one dose of VF, in a randomized sequence. Safety, acceptability, compartmental PK, and explant PD were monitored throughout the trial.All three gels were found to be safe and acceptable. RF and RGVF PK were not significantly different. Median mucosal mononuclear cell (MMC TFV-DP trended toward higher values for RF compared to RGVF (1136 and 320 fmol/106 cells respectively. Use of each gel in vivo was associated with significant inhibition of ex vivo colorectal tissue HIV infection. There was also a significant negative correlation between the tissue levels of TFV, tissue TFV-DP, MMC TFV-DP, rectal fluid TFV, and explant HIV-1 infection.All three formulations were found to be safe and acceptable. However, the safety profile of the VF gel was only based on exposure to one dose whereas participants received seven doses of the RGVF and RF gels. There was a trend towards higher tissue MMC levels of TFV-DP associated with use of the RF gel. Use of all gels was associated with significant inhibition of ex vivo tissue HIV infection.ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01575405.

  3. A comprehensive review of the lipid cubic phase or in meso method for crystallizing membrane and soluble proteins and complexes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Caffrey, Martin

    2015-01-01

    A comprehensive and up-to-date review of the lipid cubic phase or in meso method for crystallizing membrane and soluble proteins and complexes is reported. Recent applications of the method for in situ serial crystallography at X-ray free-electron lasers and synchrotrons are described. The lipid cubic phase or in meso method is a robust approach for crystallizing membrane proteins for structure determination. The uptake of the method is such that it is experiencing what can only be described as explosive growth. This timely, comprehensive and up-to-date review introduces the reader to the practice of in meso crystallogenesis, to the associated challenges and to their solutions. A model of how crystallization comes about mechanistically is presented for a more rational approach to crystallization. The possible involvement of the lamellar and inverted hexagonal phases in crystallogenesis and the application of the method to water-soluble, monotopic and lipid-anchored proteins are addressed. How to set up trials manually and automatically with a robot is introduced with reference to open-access online videos that provide a practical guide to all aspects of the method. These range from protein reconstitution to crystal harvesting from the hosting mesophase, which is noted for its viscosity and stickiness. The sponge phase, as an alternative medium in which to perform crystallization, is described. The compatibility of the method with additive lipids, detergents, precipitant-screen components and materials carried along with the protein such as denaturants and reducing agents is considered. The powerful host and additive lipid-screening strategies are described along with how samples that have low protein concentration and cell-free expressed protein can be used. Assaying the protein reconstituted in the bilayer of the cubic phase for function is an important element of quality control and is detailed. Host lipid design for crystallization at low temperatures and for

  4. A comprehensive review of the lipid cubic phase or in meso method for crystallizing membrane and soluble proteins and complexes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Caffrey, Martin, E-mail: martin.caffrey@tcd.ie [Trinity College Dublin, Dublin (Ireland)

    2015-01-01

    A comprehensive and up-to-date review of the lipid cubic phase or in meso method for crystallizing membrane and soluble proteins and complexes is reported. Recent applications of the method for in situ serial crystallography at X-ray free-electron lasers and synchrotrons are described. The lipid cubic phase or in meso method is a robust approach for crystallizing membrane proteins for structure determination. The uptake of the method is such that it is experiencing what can only be described as explosive growth. This timely, comprehensive and up-to-date review introduces the reader to the practice of in meso crystallogenesis, to the associated challenges and to their solutions. A model of how crystallization comes about mechanistically is presented for a more rational approach to crystallization. The possible involvement of the lamellar and inverted hexagonal phases in crystallogenesis and the application of the method to water-soluble, monotopic and lipid-anchored proteins are addressed. How to set up trials manually and automatically with a robot is introduced with reference to open-access online videos that provide a practical guide to all aspects of the method. These range from protein reconstitution to crystal harvesting from the hosting mesophase, which is noted for its viscosity and stickiness. The sponge phase, as an alternative medium in which to perform crystallization, is described. The compatibility of the method with additive lipids, detergents, precipitant-screen components and materials carried along with the protein such as denaturants and reducing agents is considered. The powerful host and additive lipid-screening strategies are described along with how samples that have low protein concentration and cell-free expressed protein can be used. Assaying the protein reconstituted in the bilayer of the cubic phase for function is an important element of quality control and is detailed. Host lipid design for crystallization at low temperatures and for

  5. Pupil size stability of the cubic phase mask solution for presbyopia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Almaguer, Citlalli; Acosta, Eva; Arines, Justo

    2018-01-01

    Presbyopia correction involves different types of studies such as lens design, clinical study, and the development of objective metrics, such as the visual Strehl ratio. Different contact lens designs have been proposed for presbyopia correction, but performance depends on pupil diameter. We will analyze the potential use of a nonsymmetrical element, a cubic phase mask (CPM) solution, to develop a contact or intraocular lens whose performance is nearly insensitive to changes in pupil diameter. We will show the through focus optical transfer function of the proposed element for different pupil diameters ranging from 3 to 7 mm. Additionally, we will show the images obtained through computation and experiment for a group of eye charts with different visual acuities. Our results show that a CPM shaped as 7.07 μm*(Z33-Z3-3)-0.9 μm Z20 is a good solution for a range of clear vision with a visual acuity of at least 0.1 logMar from 0.4 to 6 m for pupil diameters in the 3- to 7-mm range. Our results appear to be a good starting point for further development and study of this kind of CPM solution for presbyopia.

  6. Swimming micro-robot powered by stimuli-sensitive gel

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masoud, Hassan; Alexeev, Alexander

    2012-11-01

    Using three-dimensional computer simulations, we design a simple maneuverable micro-swimmer that can self-propel and navigate in highly viscous (low Reynolds-number) environments. Our simple swimmer consists of a cubic gel body which periodically changes volume in response to external stimuli, two rigid rectangular flaps attached to the opposite sides of the gel body, and a flexible steering flap at the front end of the swimmer. The stimuli-sensitive body undergoes periodic expansions (swelling) and contractions (deswelling) leading to a time-irreversible beating motion of the propulsive flaps that propel the micro-swimmer. Thus, the responsive gel body acts as an ``engine'' actuating the motion of the swimmer. We examine how the swimming speed depends on the gel and flap properties. We also probe how the swimmer trajectory can be changed using a responsive steering flap whose curvature is controlled by an external stimulus. We show that the turning occurs due to steering flap bending and periodic beating. Furthermore, our simulations reveal that the turning direction can be regulated by changing the intensity of external stimulus.

  7. Cubic Gallium Nitride on Micropatterned Si (001) for Longer Wavelength LEDs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Durniak, Mark T. [Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst., Troy, NY (United States). Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering; Chaudhuri, Anabil [Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States). Center for High Technology Materials; Smith, Michael L. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Advanced Material Sciences; Allerman, Andrew A. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Advanced Material Sciences; Lee, S. C. [Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States). Center for High Technology Materials; Brueck, S. R. J. [Univ. of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM (United States). Center for High Technology Materials; Wetzel, Christian [Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst., Troy, NY (United States). Dept. of Physics, Applied Physics, and Astronomy and Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering

    2016-03-01

    GaInN/GaN heterostructures of cubic phase have the potential to overcome the limitations of wurtzite structures commonly used for light emitting and laser diodes. Wurtzite GaInN suffers from large internal polarization fields, which force design compromises ( 0001 ) towards ultra-narrow quantum wells and reduce recombination volume and efficiency. Cubic GaInN microstripes grown at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy on micropatterned Si , with {111} v-grooves oriented along Si ( 001 ) , offer a system free of internal polarization fields, wider quantum wells, and smaller <00$\\bar1$> bandgap energy. We prepared 6 and 9 nm Ga x In 1-x N/GaN single quantum well structures with peak wavelength ranges from 520 to 570 nm with photons predominately polarized perpendicular to the grooves. We estimate a cubic InN composition range of 0 < x < 0.5 and an upper limit of the internal quantum efficiency of 50%. Stripe geometry and polarization may be suitable for mode confinement and reduced threshold stimulated emission.

  8. Changing the cubic ferrimagnetic domain structure in temperature region of spin flip transition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Djuraev, D.R.; Niyazov, L.N.; Saidov, K.S.; Sokolov, B.Yu.

    2011-01-01

    The transformation of cubic ferrimagnetic Tb 0.2 Y 2.8 Fe 5 O 12 domain structure has been studied by magneto optic method in the temperature region of spontaneous spin flip phase transition (SPT). It has been found that SPT occurs in a finite temperature interval where the coexistence of low- and high- temperature magnetic phase domains has observed. A character of domain structure evolution in temperature region of spin flip essentially depends on the presence of mechanical stresses in crystal. Interpretation of experimental results has been carried out within the framework of SPT theory for a cubic crystal. (authors)

  9. Hierarchical Na-doped cubic ZrO{sub 2} synthesis by a simple hydrothermal route and its application in biodiesel production

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lara-García, Hugo A.; Romero-Ibarra, Issis C.; Pfeiffer, Heriberto, E-mail: pfeiffer@iim.unam.mx

    2014-10-15

    Hierarchical growth of cubic ZrO{sub 2} phase was successfully synthesized via a simple hydrothermal process in the presence of different surfactants (cationic, non-ionic and anionic) and sodium hydroxide. The structural and microstructural characterizations of different ZrO{sub 2} powders were performed using various techniques, such as X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, N{sub 2} adsorption–desorption, scanning electron microscopy and infrared. Results indicated that sodium addition stabilized the cubic ZrO{sub 2} phase by a Na-doping process, independently of the surfactant used. In contrast, microstructural characteristics varied as a function of the surfactant and sodium presence. In addition, water vapor (H{sub 2}O) and carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) sorption properties were evaluated on ZrO{sub 2} samples. Results evidenced that sample surface reactivity changed as a function of the sodium content. Finally, this surface reactivity was evaluated on the biodiesel transesterification reaction using the different synthesized samples, obtaining yields of 93%. - Graphical abstract: Hierarchical growth of cubic Na-ZrO{sub 2} phase was synthesized by hydrothermal processes in the presence of surfactants and sodium. Sodium addition stabilized the cubic phase by a Na-doping process, while the microstructural characteristics varied with surfactants. Finally, this surface reactivity was evaluated on the biodiesel transesterification reaction. - Highlights: • Cubic-ZrO{sub 2} phase was synthesized via a simple hydrothermal process. • ZrO{sub 2} structure and microstructures changed as a function of the surfactant. • Cubic-ZrO{sub 2} phase was evaluated on the biodiesel transesterification reaction.

  10. Lattice Boltzmann simulations of liquid crystalline fluids: active gels and blue phases

    OpenAIRE

    Cates, M. E.; Henrich, O.; Marenduzzo, D.; Stratford, K.

    2010-01-01

    Lattice Boltzmann simulations have become a method of choice to solve the hydrodynamic equations of motion of a number of complex fluids. Here we review some recent applications of lattice Boltzmann to study the hydrodynamics of liquid crystalline materials. In particular, we focus on the study of (a) the exotic blue phases of cholesteric liquid crystals, and (b) active gels - a model system for actin plus myosin solutions or bacterial suspensions. In both cases lattice Boltzmann studies have...

  11. The topotactic transformation of Ti3SiC2 into a partially ordered cubic Ti(C0.67Si0.06) phase by the diffusion of Si into molten cryolite

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barsoum, M.W.; El-Raghy, T.; Farber, L.; Amer, M.; Christini, R.; Adams

    1999-01-01

    Immersion of Ti 3 SiC 2 samples in molten cryolite at 960 C resulted in the preferential diffusion of Si atoms out of the basal planes to form a partially ordered, cubic phase with approximate chemistry Ti(C 0.67 , Si 0.06 ). The latter forms in domains, wherein the (111) planes are related by mirror planes; i.e., the loss of Si results in the de-twinning of the Ti 3 C 2 layers. Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, optical, scanning and transmission electron microscopy all indicate that the Si exists the structure topotactically, in such a way that the C atoms remain partially in their ordered position in the cubic phase

  12. Phase properties of elastic waves in systems constituted of adsorbed diatomic molecules on the (001) surface of a simple cubic crystal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deymier, P. A.; Runge, K.

    2018-03-01

    A Green's function-based numerical method is developed to calculate the phase of scattered elastic waves in a harmonic model of diatomic molecules adsorbed on the (001) surface of a simple cubic crystal. The phase properties of scattered waves depend on the configuration of the molecules. The configurations of adsorbed molecules on the crystal surface such as parallel chain-like arrays coupled via kinks are used to demonstrate not only linear but also non-linear dependency of the phase on the number of kinks along the chains. Non-linear behavior arises for scattered waves with frequencies in the vicinity of a diatomic molecule resonance. In the non-linear regime, the variation in phase with the number of kinks is formulated mathematically as unitary matrix operations leading to an analogy between phase-based elastic unitary operations and quantum gates. The advantage of elastic based unitary operations is that they are easily realizable physically and measurable.

  13. Plasma simulation with the Differential Algebraic Cubic Interpolated Propagation scheme

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Utsumi, Takayuki [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment

    1998-03-01

    A computer code based on the Differential Algebraic Cubic Interpolated Propagation scheme has been developed for the numerical solution of the Boltzmann equation for a one-dimensional plasma with immobile ions. The scheme advects the distribution function and its first derivatives in the phase space for one time step by using a numerical integration method for ordinary differential equations, and reconstructs the profile in phase space by using a cubic polynomial within a grid cell. The method gives stable and accurate results, and is efficient. It is successfully applied to a number of equations; the Vlasov equation, the Boltzmann equation with the Fokker-Planck or the Bhatnagar-Gross-Krook (BGK) collision term and the relativistic Vlasov equation. The method can be generalized in a straightforward way to treat cases such as problems with nonperiodic boundary conditions and higher dimensional problems. (author)

  14. Sol-gel synthesis of hydroxyapatite; Sintese de hidroxiapatita via sol-gel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zupanski, M.D.; Lucena, M.P.P.; Bergmann, C.P., E-mail: michelledunin@yahoo.com.b [Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS (Brazil)

    2010-07-01

    Hydroxyapatite (HAp) has been established as the calcium phosphate based compound with most applications in the biological field. Among the numerous techniques for synthesis of HAp, the sol-gel processing route affords great control over purity and formed phases using low processing temperatures. In addition, the sol-gel approach offers an option for homogeneous HAp coating on metal substrates, as well as the ability to generate nanocrystalline powders. In this work, the sol-gel synthesis of HAp was investigated employing triethyl phosphate and calcium nitrate tetrahydrate as phosphorous and calcium precursors, respectively. The aging effect on phase composition and powder morphology of the final product was studied in terms of temperature and aging time. The powders were studied by using X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, particle size distribution by laser diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. (author)

  15. pH-responsive lyotropic liquid crystals for the preparation of pure cubic zirconia nanoparticles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    He, Wei Yan; Liu, Jin Rong; He, Zhang; Cao, Zhen Zhu; Li, Cai Hong; Gao, Yan Fang [Inner Mongolia University of Technology, School of Chemical Engineering, Hohhot (China)

    2016-07-15

    We present a lyotropic liquid crystal system consisting of SDS/Triton X-100/water at 25 C. This system is respond to pH variations with a phase switch. When pH is altered from alkaline (pH 13) to acidic (pH 2) conditions, phase change occurs from a bicontinuous hexagonal phase to a partially hexagonal phase until it disappears. The hexagonal phase under alkaline conditions is stable. Thus, this system is an ideal candidate for the preparation of pure cubic ZrO{sub 2} nanoparticles. XRD results confirm that the as-synthesized powder is composed of pure cubic ZrO{sub 2}. These nanoparticles also exhibit a thermal stability of up to 800 C. The size and morphological characteristics of the nanoparticles are greatly affected by ZrOCl{sub 2} concentration. The mechanism of zirconia nanoparticle synthesis in a lyotropic hexagonal phase was proposed. (orig.)

  16. Phenomenological Equations Relating Various Critical Anomalies above a Cubic-to-Tetragonal Phase Transition Point

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamano, Katsumi; Hirotsu, Shunsuke

    1980-01-01

    Phenomenological equations are derived which interrelate the anomalies in various thermodynamic quantities above the transition point of a cubic-to-tetragonal phase transition caused by an instability of a triply degenerate soft mode. The anomalous part of the Gibbs free energy is assumed to be a simple sum of the three parts which represent the contributions from the three fluctuation components. A cylindrical approximation is adopted to each of the three contributions by taking into account the symmetry of the fluctuations. The theory predicts that the adiabatic elastic compliances, s11s, s12s, and also s11s-s12s should exhibit anomalies proportional to the anomaly in the specific heat at constant pressure. This is in marked contrast with the result of the generalized Pippard equations derived by Garland, and by Janovec. The new equations are successfully tested for KMnF3, CsPbCl3, and CsPbBr3. The β-γ transition of NH4Br is also discussed.

  17. Dry Powder Precursors of Cubic Liquid Crystalline Nanoparticles (cubosomes)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spicer, Patrick T.; Small, William B.; Small, William B.; Lynch, Matthew L.; Burns, Janet L.

    2002-01-01

    Cubosomes are dispersed nanostructured particles of cubic phase liquid crystal that have stimulated significant research interest because of their potential for application in controlled-release and drug delivery. Despite the interest, cubosomes can be difficult to fabricate and stabilize with current methods. Most of the current work is limited to liquid phase processes involving high shear dispersion of bulk cubic liquid crystalline material into sub-micron particles, limiting application flexibility. In this work, two types of dry powder cubosome precursors are produced by spray-drying: (1) starch-encapsulated monoolein is produced by spray-drying a dispersion of cubic liquid crystalline particles in an aqueous starch solution and (2) dextran-encapsulated monoolein is produced by spray-drying an emulsion formed by the ethanol-dextran-monoolein-water system. The encapsulants are used to decrease powder cohesion during drying and to act as a soluble colloidal stabilizer upon hydration of the powders. Both powders are shown to form (on average) 0.6 μm colloidally-stable cubosomes upon addition to water. However, the starch powders have a broader particle size distribution than the dextran powders because of the relative ease of spraying emulsions versus dispersions. The developed processes enable the production of nanostructured cubosomes by end-users rather than just specialized researchers and allow tailoring of the surface state of the cubosomes for broader application

  18. Ground-state ordering of the J1-J2 model on the simple cubic and body-centered cubic lattices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farnell, D. J. J.; Götze, O.; Richter, J.

    2016-06-01

    The J1-J2 Heisenberg model is a "canonical" model in the field of quantum magnetism in order to study the interplay between frustration and quantum fluctuations as well as quantum phase transitions driven by frustration. Here we apply the coupled cluster method (CCM) to study the spin-half J1-J2 model with antiferromagnetic nearest-neighbor bonds J1>0 and next-nearest-neighbor bonds J2>0 for the simple cubic (sc) and body-centered cubic (bcc) lattices. In particular, we wish to study the ground-state ordering of these systems as a function of the frustration parameter p =z2J2/z1J1 , where z1 (z2) is the number of nearest (next-nearest) neighbors. We wish to determine the positions of the phase transitions using the CCM and we aim to resolve the nature of the phase transition points. We consider the ground-state energy, order parameters, spin-spin correlation functions, as well as the spin stiffness in order to determine the ground-state phase diagrams of these models. We find a direct first-order phase transition at a value of p =0.528 from a state of nearest-neighbor Néel order to next-nearest-neighbor Néel order for the bcc lattice. For the sc lattice the situation is more subtle. CCM results for the energy, the order parameter, the spin-spin correlation functions, and the spin stiffness indicate that there is no direct first-order transition between ground-state phases with magnetic long-range order, rather it is more likely that two phases with antiferromagnetic long range are separated by a narrow region of a spin-liquid-like quantum phase around p =0.55 . Thus the strong frustration present in the J1-J2 Heisenberg model on the sc lattice may open a window for an unconventional quantum ground state in this three-dimensional spin model.

  19. Gels and lyotropic liquid crystals: using an imidazolium-based catanionic surfactant in binary solvents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Ni; Hu, Qiongzheng; Bi, Yanhui; Xu, Wenwen; Gong, Yanjun; Yu, Li

    2014-08-05

    The self-assembly behavior of an imidazolium-based catanionic surfactant, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium dodecylsulfate ([C4mim][C12H25SO4]), was investigated in water-ethylammonium nitrate (EAN) mixed solvents with different volume ratios. It is particular interesting that this simple surfactant could not only form lyotropic liquid crystals (LLC) with multimesophases, i.e., normal hexagonal (H1), lamellar liquid crystal (Lα), and reverse bicontinuous cubic phase (V2), in the water-rich environment but also act as an efficient low-molecular-weight gelator (LMWG) which gelated EAN-abundant binary media in a broad concentration range. The peculiar nanodisk cluster morphology of gels composed of similar bilayer units was first observed. FT-IR spectra and density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that strong H bonding and electrostatic interactions between EAN and the headgroups of [C4mim][C12H25SO4] are primarily responsible for gelation. The self-assembled gels displayed excellent mechanical strength and a thermoreversible sol-gel transition. It is for the first time that a rich variety of controllable ordered aggregates could be observed only by simply modulating the concentration of a single imidazolium-based catanionic surfactant or the ratio of mixed solvents. This environmentally friendly system is expected to have broad applications in various fields, such as materials science, drug delivery systems, and supramolecular chemistry.

  20. Application of Cubic Box Spline Wavelets in the Analysis of Signal Singularities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rakowski Waldemar

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available In the subject literature, wavelets such as the Mexican hat (the second derivative of a Gaussian or the quadratic box spline are commonly used for the task of singularity detection. The disadvantage of the Mexican hat, however, is its unlimited support; the disadvantage of the quadratic box spline is a phase shift introduced by the wavelet, making it difficult to locate singular points. The paper deals with the construction and properties of wavelets in the form of cubic box splines which have compact and short support and which do not introduce a phase shift. The digital filters associated with cubic box wavelets that are applied in implementing the discrete dyadic wavelet transform are defined. The filters and the algorithme à trous of the discrete dyadic wavelet transform are used in detecting signal singularities and in calculating the measures of signal singularities in the form of a Lipschitz exponent. The article presents examples illustrating the use of cubic box spline wavelets in the analysis of signal singularities.

  1. Low temperature formation of higher-k cubic phase HfO{sub 2} by atomic layer deposition on GeO{sub x}/Ge structures fabricated by in-situ thermal oxidation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, R., E-mail: zhang@mosfet.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp [School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 2-11-16 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656 (Japan); Department of Information Science and Electronic Engineering, Zhejiang University, 38 Zheda Road, Hangzhou 310027 (China); Huang, P.-C.; Taoka, N.; Yokoyama, M.; Takenaka, M.; Takagi, S. [School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 2-11-16 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656 (Japan)

    2016-02-01

    We have demonstrated a low temperature formation (300 °C) of higher-k HfO{sub 2} using atomic layer deposition (ALD) on an in-situ thermal oxidation GeO{sub x} interfacial layer. It is found that the cubic phase is dominant in the HfO{sub 2} film with an epitaxial-like growth behavior. The maximum permittivity of 42 is obtained for an ALD HfO{sub 2} film on a 1-nm-thick GeO{sub x} form by the in-situ thermal oxidation. It is suggested from physical analyses that the crystallization of cubic phase HfO{sub 2} can be induced by the formation of six-fold crystalline GeO{sub x} structures in the underlying GeO{sub x} interfacial layer.

  2. X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) Characterization Methods for Sigma=3 Twin Defects in Cubic Semiconductor (100) Wafers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Yeonjoon (Inventor); Kim, Hyun Jung (Inventor); Skuza, Jonathan R. (Inventor); Lee, Kunik (Inventor); King, Glen C. (Inventor); Choi, Sang Hyouk (Inventor)

    2017-01-01

    An X-ray defraction (XRD) characterization method for sigma=3 twin defects in cubic semiconductor (100) wafers includes a concentration measurement method and a wafer mapping method for any cubic tetrahedral semiconductor wafers including GaAs (100) wafers and Si (100) wafers. The methods use the cubic semiconductor's (004) pole figure in order to detect sigma=3/{111} twin defects. The XRD methods are applicable to any (100) wafers of tetrahedral cubic semiconductors in the diamond structure (Si, Ge, C) and cubic zinc-blend structure (InP, InGaAs, CdTe, ZnSe, and so on) with various growth methods such as Liquid Encapsulated Czochralski (LEC) growth, Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE), Organometallic Vapor Phase Epitaxy (OMVPE), Czochralski growth and Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) growth.

  3. Neutron diffraction study of cubic titanium carbohydride at the homogeneity lower limit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khidirov, I.; Mirzaev, B.B.; Mukhtarova, N.N.

    2004-01-01

    Cubic carbohydride TiC 0.47H0.22 was prepared by means of quenching from 1200 deg.C followed by the heat treatment using special regime for preventing the hydrogen yield out the lattice. It is shown that at the lower limit of homogeneity range of the cubic carbohydride, hydrogen atoms occupy the tetrahedral interstices 8(c) of the disordered cubic structure with space group of Fm3m. It is found that carbon and hydrogen atoms are partially ordered by annealing at 900-700 deg.C. The ordered structure is face-centred cubic lattice with the parameter a ≅2a 0 , where a 0 is the lattice parameter in disordered structure. The crystal structure of the disordered phase is described within the framework of space group Fd3m, where the carbon atoms occupy mainly (70%) octahedral interstices 16(c) and another ones of carbon and all hydrogen atoms occupy the octahedral interstices 16(d). (author)

  4. Characterization of cubic ceria?zirconia powders by X-ray diffraction and vibrational and electronic spectroscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sánchez Escribano, Vicente; Fernández López, Enrique; Panizza, Marta; Resini, Carlo; Gallardo Amores, José Manuel; Busca, Guido

    2003-10-01

    The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns and the Infrared, Raman and UV-visible spectra of CeO 2ZrO 2 powders prepared by co-precipitation are presented. Raman spectra provide evidence for the largely predominant cubic structure of the powders with CeO 2 molar composition higher than 25%. Also skeletal IR spectra allow to distinguish cubic from tetragonal phases which are instead not easily distinguished on the basis of the XRD patterns. All mixed oxides including pure ceria are strong UV absorbers although also absorb in the violet visible region. By carefully selecting their composition and treatment temperature, the onset of the radiation that they cut off can be chosen in the 425-475 nm interval. Although they are likely metastable, the cubic phases are still pure even after heating at 1173 K for 4 h.

  5. Numerical Simulation of Sloshing Phenomena in Cubic Tank with Multiple Baffles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mi-An Xue

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available A two-phase fluid flow model solving Navier-Stokes equations was employed in this paper to investigate liquid sloshing phenomena in cubic tank with horizontal baffle, perforated vertical baffle, and their combinatorial configurations under the harmonic motion excitation. Laboratory experiment of liquid sloshing in cubic tank with perforated vertical baffle was carried out to validate the present numerical model. Fairly good agreements were obtained from the comparisons between the present numerical results and the present experimental data, available numerical data. Liquid sloshing in cubic tank with multiple baffles was investigated numerically in detail under different external excitation frequencies. Power spectrum of the time series of free surface elevation was presented with the aid of fast Fourier transform technique. The dynamic impact pressures acting on the normal and parallel sidewalls were discussed in detail.

  6. Properties of form-stable paraffin/silicon dioxide/expanded graphite phase change composites prepared by sol–gel method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Min; Wu, Zhishen; Tan, Jinmiao

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► Paraffin/SiO 2 /EG composite PCM was prepared with sol–gel method. ► The thermal conductivity of SiO 2 /paraffin/EG is 94.7% higher than paraffin. ► The latent heat of paraffin/SiO 2 /EG composite is 104.4 J/g. -- Abstract: A form-stable paraffin/silicon dioxide (SiO 2 )/expanded graphite (EG) composite phase change material (PCM) was prepared by sol–gel method. Silica gel acts as the supporting material and EG is used to increase the thermal conductivity. The mass fractions of silicon oxide and graphite are 20.8% and 7.2%, respectively. The composite PCM was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) method. Thermal properties and thermal stability of the composite PCM were studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The result shows that paraffin was well dispersed in the network of silica gel and there is no chemical reaction between them. The phase change temperature of the paraffin/SiO 2 composite and the paraffin/SiO 2 /EG composite are 27.53 °C and 27.72 °C, respectively. The latent heat of the paraffin/SiO 2 composite and the paraffin/SiO 2 /EG composite are 112.8 J/g and 104.4 J/g, respectively. The thermal conductivity of the SiO 2 /paraffin composite and the SiO 2 /paraffin/EG composite are 28.2% and 94.7% higher than that of paraffin.

  7. Compressibility and thermal expansion of cubic silicon nitride

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jiang, Jianzhong; Lindelov, H.; Gerward, Leif

    2002-01-01

    The compressibility and thermal expansion of the cubic silicon nitride (c-Si3N4) phase have been investigated by performing in situ x-ray powder-diffraction measurements using synchrotron radiation, complemented with computer simulations by means of first-principles calculations. The bulk...... compressibility of the c-Si3N4 phase originates from the average of both Si-N tetrahedral and octahedral compressibilities where the octahedral polyhedra are less compressible than the tetrahedral ones. The origin of the unit cell expansion is revealed to be due to the increase of the octahedral Si-N and N-N bond...

  8. Cubic metaplectic forms and theta functions

    CERN Document Server

    Proskurin, Nikolai

    1998-01-01

    The book is an introduction to the theory of cubic metaplectic forms on the 3-dimensional hyperbolic space and the author's research on cubic metaplectic forms on special linear and symplectic groups of rank 2. The topics include: Kubota and Bass-Milnor-Serre homomorphisms, cubic metaplectic Eisenstein series, cubic theta functions, Whittaker functions. A special method is developed and applied to find Fourier coefficients of the Eisenstein series and cubic theta functions. The book is intended for readers, with beginning graduate-level background, interested in further research in the theory of metaplectic forms and in possible applications.

  9. Microstructural changes in NiFe_2O_4 ceramics prepared with powders derived from different fuels in sol-gel auto-combustion technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chauhan, Lalita; Sreenivas, K.; Bokolia, Renuka

    2016-01-01

    Structural properties of Nickel ferrite (NiFe_2O_4) ceramics prepared from powders derived from sol gel auto-combustion method using different fuels (citric acid, glycine and Dl-alanine) are compared. Changes in the structural properties at different sintering temperatures are investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirms the formation of single phase material with cubic structure. Ceramics prepared using the different powders obtained from different fuels show that that there are no significant changes in lattice parameters. However increasing sintering temperatures show significant improvement in density and grain size. The DL-alanine fuel is found to be the most effective fuel for producing NIFe_2O_4 powders by the sol-gel auto combustion method and yields highly crystalline powders in the as-burnt stage itself at a low temperature (80 °C). Subsequent use of the powders in ceramic manufacturing produces dense NiFe_2O_4 ceramics with a uniform microstructure and a large grain size.

  10. Microstructural changes in NiFe2O4 ceramics prepared with powders derived from different fuels in sol-gel auto-combustion technique

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chauhan, Lalita; Bokolia, Renuka; Sreenivas, K.

    2016-05-01

    Structural properties of Nickel ferrite (NiFe2O4) ceramics prepared from powders derived from sol gel auto-combustion method using different fuels (citric acid, glycine and Dl-alanine) are compared. Changes in the structural properties at different sintering temperatures are investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirms the formation of single phase material with cubic structure. Ceramics prepared using the different powders obtained from different fuels show that that there are no significant changes in lattice parameters. However increasing sintering temperatures show significant improvement in density and grain size. The DL-alanine fuel is found to be the most effective fuel for producing NIFe2O4 powders by the sol-gel auto combustion method and yields highly crystalline powders in the as-burnt stage itself at a low temperature (80 °C). Subsequent use of the powders in ceramic manufacturing produces dense NiFe2O4 ceramics with a uniform microstructure and a large grain size.

  11. Cubic systems with invariant affine straight lines of total parallel multiplicity seven

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexandru Suba

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available In this article, we study the planar cubic differential systems with invariant affine straight lines of total parallel multiplicity seven. We classify these system according to their geometric properties encoded in the configurations of invariant straight lines. We show that there are only 17 different topological phase portraits in the Poincar\\'e disc associated to this family of cubic systems up to a reversal of the sense of their orbits, and we provide representatives of every class modulo an affine change of variables and rescaling of the time variable.

  12. Tetracaine oral gel in patients treated with radiotherapy for head-and-neck cancer: Final results of a phase II study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alterio, Daniela; Jereczek-Fossa, Barbara Alicja; Zuccotti, Gabriele Fulvio Phar; Leon, Maria Elena; Omodeo Sale, Emanuela Phar; Pasetti, Marcella; Modena, Tiziana Phar; Perugini, Paola; Mariani, Luigi; Orecchia, Roberto

    2006-01-01

    Purpose: We performed a phase II study to assess feasibility, pain relief, and toxicity of a tetracaine-based oral gel in the treatment of radiotherapy (RT)-induced mucositis. Methods and Materials: Fifty patients treated with RT for head-and-neck cancer with clinical evidence of acute oral mucositis of grade ≥2 were scheduled to receive the tetracaine gel. A questionnaire evaluating the effect of the gel was given to all subjects. Results: In 38 patients (79.2%), a reduction in oral cavity pain was reported. Thirty-four patients (82.9%) reported no side effect. Seventy-one percent of patients had no difficulties in gel application. Unpleasant taste of the gel and interference with food taste were noticed in 5 (12%) and 16 patients (39%), respectively. Planned RT course was interrupted less frequently in patients who reported benefit from gel application than in patients who did not (p = 0.014). None of the patients who experienced pain relief needed a nasogastric tube, opposite to the patients who did not report any benefit from gel application (p = 0.001). Conclusion: Tetracaine oral gel administration seemed feasible and safe while reducing RT-induced mucositis-related oral pain in a sizeable proportion of treated head-and-neck cancer patients. A trial designed to compare efficacy of this gel vs. standard treatment is warranted

  13. Effect of Hydrostatic Pressure on the Structural, Electronic and Optical Properties of SnS2 with a Cubic Structure: The DFT Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bakhshayeshi, A.; Taghavi Mendi, R.; Majidiyan Sarmazdeh, M.

    2018-02-01

    Recently, a cubic structure of polymorphic SnS2 has been synthesized experimentally, which is stable at room temperature. In this paper, we calculated some structural, electronic and optical properties of the cubic SnS2 structure based on the full potential-linearized augmented plane waves method. We also studied the effect of hydrostatic pressure on the physical properties of the cubic SnS2 structure. Structural results show that the compressibility of the cubic SnS2 phase is greater than its trigonal phase and the compressibility decreases with increasing pressure. Investigations of the electronic properties indicate that pressure changes the density of states and the energy band gap increases with increasing pressure. The variation of energy band gap versus pressure is almost linear. We concluded that cubic SnS2 is a semiconductor with an indirect energy band gap, like its trigonal phase. The optical calculations revealed that the dielectric constant decreases with increasing pressure, and the width of the forbidden energy interval increases for electromagnetic wave propagation. Moreover, plasmonic energy and refractive index are changed with increasing pressure.

  14. Sol-gel synthesis and characterization of single-phase Ni ferrite nanoparticles dispersed in SiO2 matrix

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nadeem, K.; Traussnig, T.; Letofsky-Papst, I.; Krenn, H.; Brossmann, U.; Wuerschum, R.

    2010-01-01

    Nanoparticles of NiFe 2 O 4 dispersed in SiO 2 (25 wt%) matrix were synthesized by sol-gel method using tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS), as a precursor for SiO 2 . The sol-gel method for nanocomposites normally provides multi-phase nanoparticles. We investigated by a synopsis of different analysis methods, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and SQUID-magnetometry, how the various chemical phases are transformed to a single-phase spinel structure during the various stages of annealing from 300 to 900 o C. We have developed a full phase diagram of chemical phases as a function of annealing temperature. The average particle size lies in the range 16-27 nm. The chemical phases formed below 900 o C are NiFe, NiO, γ-Fe 2 O 3 , α-Fe 2 O 3 , and NiFe 2 O 4 , respectively. The role of the TEOS prepared SiO 2 matrix is to restrict the particle size in a small range in order to rule out particle size effects. In the mid-infrared, a shift of the vibrational Fe-O bond is observed from 568 to 586 cm -1 for annealing between 500 and 700 o C which indicates an increasing NiFe 2 O 4 phase formation. A systematic study of coercivity field (ranging from 32 to 200 Oe) and saturation magnetic moment (ranging from 12.2 to 32.1 emu/g) for differently annealed samples supports our findings about the evolution of single-phase NiFe 2 O 4 at 900 o C. The opposite trend of saturation magnetic moment and coercivity with respect to annealing temperature clearly separates the different phases of metallic, antiferromagnetic, and finally single-phase spinel NiFe 2 O 4 .

  15. Sol-gel transitions and liquid crystal phase transitions in concentrated aqueous suspensions of colloidal gibbsite platelets

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mourad, M.C.D.; Byelov, D.V.; Petukhov, A.V.; de Winter, D.A.M.; Verkleij, A.J.; Lekkerkerker, H.N.W.

    2009-01-01

    In this paper, we present a comprehensive study of the sol-gel transitions and liquid crystal phase transitions in aqueous suspensions of positively charged colloidal gibbsite platelets at pH 4-5 over a wide range of particle concentrations (50-600 g/L) and salt concentrations (10-4-10-1 M NaCl). A

  16. Ionic and Wigner Glasses, Superionic Conductors, and Spinodal Electrostatic Gels: Dynamically Arrested Phases of the Primitive Model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sanchez-Diaz, L. E.; Juarez-Maldonado, R.; Vizcarra-Rendon, A.

    2009-01-01

    Based on the recently proposed self-consistent generalized Langevin equation theory of dynamic arrest, in this letter we show that the ergodic-nonergodic phase diagram of a classical mixture of charged hard spheres (the so-called 'primitive model' of ionic solutions and molten salts) includes arrested phases corresponding to nonconducting ionic glasses, partially arrested states that represent solid electrolytes (or 'superionic' conductors), low-density colloidal Wigner glasses, and low-density electrostatic gels associated with arrested spinodal decomposition.

  17. Effect of preparation conditions on Nickel Zinc Ferrite nanoparticles: A comparison between sol–gel auto combustion and co-precipitation methods

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manju Kurian

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The experimental conditions used in the preparation of nano crystalline mixed ferrite materials play an important role in the particle size of the product. In the present work a comparison is made on sol–gel auto combustion methods and co-precipitation methods by preparing Nickel Zinc Ferrite (Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 nano particles. The prepared ferrite samples were calcined at different temperatures and characterized by using standard methods. X-ray diffraction analysis indicated the formation of single phase ferrite nanoparticles for samples calcined at 500 °C. The lattice parameter range of 8.32–8.49 Å confirmed the cubic spinel structure. Average crystallite size estimated from X-ray diffractogram was found to be between 17 and 40 nm. The IR spectra showed two main absorption bands, the high frequency band ν1 around 600 cm−1 and the low frequency band ν2 around 400 cm−1 arising from tetrahedral (A and octahedral (B interstitial sites in the spinel lattice. TEM pictures showed particles in the nanometric range confirming the XRD data. The studies revealed that the sol–gel auto combustion method was superior to the co-precipitation method for producing single phase nano particles with smaller crystallite size.

  18. Sol-gel growth of vanadium dioxide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Speck, K.R.

    1990-01-01

    This thesis examines the chemical reactivity of vanadium (IV) tetrakis(t-butoxide) as a precursor for the sol-gel synthesis of vanadium dioxide. Hydrolysis and condensation of the alkoxide was studied by FTIR spectroscopy. Chemical modification of the vanadium tetraalkoxide by alcohol interchange was studied using 51 V NMR and FTIR. Vanadium dioxide thin films and powders were made from vanadium tetrakis(t-butoxide) by standard sol-gel techniques. Post-deposition heating under nitrogen was necessary to transform amorphous gels into vanadium dioxide. Crystallization of films and powders was studied by FTIR, DSC, TGA, and XRD. Gel-derived vanadium dioxide films undergo a reversible semiconductor-to-metal phase transition near 68C, exhibiting characteristic resistive and spectral changes. The electrical resistance decreased by two to three orders of magnitude and the infrared transmission sharply dropped as the material was cycled through this thermally induced phase transition. The sol-gel method was also used to make doped vanadium dioxide films. Films were doped with tungsten and molybdenum ions to effectively lower the temperature at which the transition occurs

  19. Crystal growth of electroluminescent ZnS:Cu,Cl phosphor and its TiO2 coating by sol-gel method for thick-film EL device

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han, Sang-Do; Singh, Ishwar; Singh, Devender; Lee, You-He; Sharma, Gaytri; Han, Chi-Hwan

    2005-01-01

    Bigger-sized spherical particle of ZnS:Cu,Cl to be employed for electroluminescent (EL) device has been synthesized using a new eutectic mixture as flux. The best composition of the flux was the mixture of BaCl 2 .2H 2 O, MgCl 2 .6H 2 O and NaCl in the mole percentage ratio of 13.8:39.9:46.2 and when the total amount of the mixture was 6% of the total weight of ZnS. The phosphor was synthesized firing at higher temperatures in two steps. First step firing at 1150 deg. C gave the hexagonal phase of the ZnS phosphor particles. Low intensity ball-milling of the phosphor pastes in solvents converted hexagonal phase partially to the cubic phase of the phosphor, which is an essential step. Mixing with copper sulfate or copper(I) halides and magnesium chloride and then firing (second step) at 750 deg. C gave a phosphor with better luminescent characteristics and converting to almost 100% cubic phase. The phosphor particles having size >0.020 mm size were sieved and coated with TiO 2 made by sol-gel process using titanium(IV)-isopropoxide as a precursor. The phosphor particles were coated twice with the TiO 2 sol and finally calcined at 400 deg C in nitrogen atmosphere. The EL devices were fabricated with the synthesized phosphor using a screen-printing method

  20. Sol-gel titania-coated needles for solid phase dynamic extraction-GC/MS analysis of desomorphine and desocodeine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Su, Chi-Ju; Srimurugan, Sankarewaran; Chen, Chinpiao; Shu, Hun-Chi

    2011-01-01

    Novel sol-gel titania film coated needles for solid-phase dynamic extraction (SPDE)-GC/MS analysis of desomorphine and desocodeine are described. The high thermal stability of titania film permits efficient extraction and analysis of poorly volatile opiate drugs. The influences of sol-gel reaction time, coating layer, extraction and desorption time and temperature on the SPDE needle performance were investigated. The deuterium labeled internal standard was introduced either during the extraction of analyte or directly injected to GC after the extraction process. The latter method was shown to be more sensitive for the analysis of water and urine samples containing opiate drugs. The proposed conditions provided a wide linear range (from 5-5000 ppb), and satisfactory linearity, with R(2) values from 0.9958 to 0.9999, and prominent sensitivity, LOQs (1.0-5.0 ng/g). The sol-gel titania film coated needle with SPDE-GC/MS will be a promising technique for desomorphine and desocodeine analysis in urine.

  1. Microstructural changes in NiFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} ceramics prepared with powders derived from different fuels in sol-gel auto-combustion technique

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chauhan, Lalita, E-mail: chauhan.lalita5@gmail.com; Sreenivas, K. [Department of Physics & Astrophysics, University of Delhi, Delhi-110007 (India); Bokolia, Renuka

    2016-05-23

    Structural properties of Nickel ferrite (NiFe{sub 2}O{sub 4}) ceramics prepared from powders derived from sol gel auto-combustion method using different fuels (citric acid, glycine and Dl-alanine) are compared. Changes in the structural properties at different sintering temperatures are investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirms the formation of single phase material with cubic structure. Ceramics prepared using the different powders obtained from different fuels show that that there are no significant changes in lattice parameters. However increasing sintering temperatures show significant improvement in density and grain size. The DL-alanine fuel is found to be the most effective fuel for producing NIFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} powders by the sol-gel auto combustion method and yields highly crystalline powders in the as-burnt stage itself at a low temperature (80 °C). Subsequent use of the powders in ceramic manufacturing produces dense NiFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} ceramics with a uniform microstructure and a large grain size.

  2. Sol-gel synthesis of hydroxyapatite

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zupanski, M.D.; Lucena, M.P.P.; Bergmann, C.P.

    2010-01-01

    Hydroxyapatite (HAp) has been established as the calcium phosphate based compound with most applications in the biological field. Among the numerous techniques for synthesis of HAp, the sol-gel processing route affords great control over purity and formed phases using low processing temperatures. In addition, the sol-gel approach offers an option for homogeneous HAp coating on metal substrates, as well as the ability to generate nanocrystalline powders. In this work, the sol-gel synthesis of HAp was investigated employing triethyl phosphate and calcium nitrate tetrahydrate as phosphorous and calcium precursors, respectively. The aging effect on phase composition and powder morphology of the final product was studied in terms of temperature and aging time. The powders were studied by using X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, particle size distribution by laser diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. (author)

  3. Calculated Pourbaix Diagrams of Cubic Perovskites for Water Splitting: Stability Against Corrosion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Castelli, Ivano Eligio; Thygesen, Kristian Sommer; Jacobsen, Karsten Wedel

    2014-01-01

    We use density functional theory calculations to investigate the stability of cubic perovskites for photo-electrochemical water splitting taking both materials in their bulk crystal structure and dissolved phases into account. The method is validated through a detailed comparison of the calculated...

  4. Hairy black holes in cubic quasi-topological gravity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dykaar, Hannah [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo,200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G1 (Canada); Department of Physics, McGill University,3600 rue University, Montreal, QC, H3A 2T8 (Canada); Hennigar, Robie A.; Mann, Robert B. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo,200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G1 (Canada)

    2017-05-09

    We construct a class of five dimensional black hole solutions to cubic quasi-topological gravity with conformal scalar hair and study their thermodynamics. We find these black holes provide the second example of black hole λ-lines: a line of second order (continuous) phase transitions, akin to the fluid/superfluid transition of {sup 4}He. Examples of isolated critical points are found for spherical black holes, marking the first in the literature to date. We also find various novel and interesting phase structures, including an isolated critical point occurring in conjunction with a double reentrant phase transition. The AdS vacua of the theory are studied, finding ghost-free configurations where the scalar field takes on a non-zero constant value, in notable contrast to the five dimensional Lovelock case.

  5. Analysis of cubic and orthorhombic C3A hydration in presence of gypsum and lime

    KAUST Repository

    Kirchheim, A. P.; Fernà ndez-Altable, V.; Monteiro, P. J. M.; Dal Molin, D. C. C.; Casanova, I.

    2009-01-01

    Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) have been used to study the microstructural changes and phase development that take place during the hydration of cubic (pure) and orthorhombic (Na-doped) tricalcium aluminate (C3A) and gypsum in the absence and presence of lime. The results demonstrate that important differences occur in the hydration of each C3A polymorph and gypsum when no lime is added; orthorhombic C3A reacts faster with gypsum than the cubic phase, forming longer ettringite needles; however, the presence of lime slows down the formation of ettringite in the orthorhombic sample. Additional rheometric tests showed the possible effects on the setting time in these cementitious mixes.

  6. Analysis of cubic and orthorhombic C3A hydration in presence of gypsum and lime

    KAUST Repository

    Kirchheim, A. P.

    2009-02-26

    Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) have been used to study the microstructural changes and phase development that take place during the hydration of cubic (pure) and orthorhombic (Na-doped) tricalcium aluminate (C3A) and gypsum in the absence and presence of lime. The results demonstrate that important differences occur in the hydration of each C3A polymorph and gypsum when no lime is added; orthorhombic C3A reacts faster with gypsum than the cubic phase, forming longer ettringite needles; however, the presence of lime slows down the formation of ettringite in the orthorhombic sample. Additional rheometric tests showed the possible effects on the setting time in these cementitious mixes.

  7. THERMODYNAMIC PARAMETERS OF LEAD SULFIDE CRYSTALS IN THE CUBIC PHASE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. O. Parashchuk

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Geometric and thermodynamic parameters of cubic PbS crystals were obtained using the computer calculations of the thermodynamic parameters within density functional theory method DFT. Cluster models for the calculation based on the analysis of the crystal and electronic structure. Temperature dependence of energy ΔE and enthalpy ΔH, Gibbs free energy ΔG, heat capacity at constant pressure CP and constant volume CV, entropy ΔS were determined on the basis of ab initio calculations of the crystal structure of molecular clusters. Analytical expressions of temperature dependences of thermodynamic parameters which were approximated with quantum-chemical calculation points have been presented. Experimental results compared with theoretically calculated data.

  8. Fabrication of highly conductive graphene/ITO transparent bi-film through CVD and organic additives-free sol-gel techniques.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hemasiri, Bastian Waduge Naveen Harindu; Kim, Jae-Kwan; Lee, Ji-Myon

    2017-12-19

    Indium tin oxide (ITO) still remains as the main candidate for high-performance optoelectronic devices, but there is a vital requirement in the development of sol-gel based synthesizing techniques with regards to green environment and higher conductivity. Graphene/ITO transparent bi-film was synthesized by a two-step process: 10 wt. % tin-doped ITO thin films were produced by an environmentally friendly aqueous sol-gel spin coating technique with economical salts of In(NO 3 ) 3 .H 2 O and SnCl 4 , without using organic additives, on surface free energy enhanced (from 53.826 to 97.698 mJm -2 ) glass substrate by oxygen plasma treatment, which facilitated void-free continuous ITO film due to high surface wetting. The chemical vapor deposited monolayer graphene was transferred onto the synthesized ITO to enhance its electrical properties and it was capable of reducing sheet resistance over 12% while preserving the bi-film surface smoother. The ITO films contain the In 2 O 3 phase only and exhibit the polycrystalline nature of cubic structure with 14.35 ± 0.5 nm crystallite size. The graphene/ITO bi-film exhibits reproducible optical transparency with 88.66% transmittance at 550 nm wavelength, and electrical conductivity with sheet resistance of 117 Ω/sq which is much lower than that of individual sol-gel derived ITO film.

  9. Stability of low-temperature Li{sub 7}La{sub 3}Zr{sub 2}O{sub 12} cubic phase: The role of temperature and atmosphere

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Quinzeni, Irene; Capsoni, Doretta; Berbenni, Vittorio; Mustarelli, Piercarlo [Chemistry Department, Physical-Chemistry Section, University of Pavia, Viale Taramelli 16, 27100 Pavia (Italy); Sturini, Michela [Chemistry Department, Analytical Section, University of Pavia, Viale Taramelli 12, 27100 Pavia (Italy); Bini, Marcella, E-mail: bini@unipv.it [Chemistry Department, Physical-Chemistry Section, University of Pavia, Viale Taramelli 16, 27100 Pavia (Italy)

    2017-01-01

    Rechargeable all solid-state lithium batteries are a promising technology for the next generation of safer batteries. In this context, strict requirements are placed on the electrolytes, among which is emerging the Li{sub 7}La{sub 3}Zr{sub 2}O{sub 12} garnet, chiefly for the relationships among synthesis conditions and phase stability. Here, the structural modifications of the low temperature (LT) Li{sub 7}La{sub 3}Zr{sub 2}O{sub 12} cubic form were investigated by using in situ X-Rays diffraction analysis. In particular, we studied the role of both temperature and atmosphere (air or argon) on phase stabilization. In argon flow, the LT phase is stable under 750 °C, and it transforms into the tetragonal one at lower temperature. In air, it partially decomposes to La{sub 2}Zr{sub 2}O{sub 7} due to Li loss above 250 °C. ICP-OES analysis confirmed that garnet stoichiometry was maintained in argon, whereas in air lithium loss occurred. The structural transformations are driven by the CO{sub 2} absorbed in the LT structure that can form Li{sub 2}CO{sub 3} and/or La{sub 2}(CO{sub 3}){sub 3} so causing stoichiometry changes responsible of the structural evolution. - Highlights: • Li{sub 7}La{sub 3}Zr{sub 2}O{sub 12} is a promising electrolyte for rechargeable all solid state batteries. • The stability of low temperature cubic phase of garnet in argon and air was determined. • The garnet stoichiometry was maintained in argon while in air lithium loss occurred. • The influence of CO{sub 2} adsorption on the structural modifications of garnet was proved.

  10. Sol-Gel Manufactured Energetic Materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simpson, Randall L.; Lee, Ronald S.; Tillotson, Thomas M.; Hrubesh, Lawrence W.; Swansiger, Rosalind W.; Fox, Glenn A.

    2005-05-17

    Sol-gel chemistry is used for the preparation of energetic materials (explosives, propellants and pyrotechnics) with improved homogeneity, and/or which can be cast to near-net shape, and/or made into precision molding powders. The sol-gel method is a synthetic chemical process where reactive monomers are mixed into a solution, polymerization occurs leading to a highly cross-linked three dimensional solid network resulting in a gel. The energetic materials can be incorporated during the formation of the solution or during the gel stage of the process. The composition, pore, and primary particle sizes, gel time, surface areas, and density may be tailored and controlled by the solution chemistry. The gel is then dried using supercritical extraction to produce a highly porous low density aerogel or by controlled slow evaporation to produce a xerogel. Applying stress during the extraction phase can result in high density materials. Thus, the sol-gel method can be used for precision detonator explosive manufacturing as well as producing precision explosives, propellants, and pyrotechnics, along with high power composite energetic materials.

  11. Criticality of the anisotropic quantum Heisenberg model on a simple cubic lattice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mariz, A.M.; Santos, R.M.Z. dos; Tsallis, C.; Santos, R.R. dos.

    1984-01-01

    Within a Real Space Renormalization group framework, the criticality (phase diagram, and critical thermal and crossover exponents) of the spin 1/2 - anisotropic quantum Heisenberg ferromagnet on a simple cubic lattice is studied. The results obtained are in satisfactory agreement with known results whenever available. (Author) [pt

  12. Criticality of the anisotropic quantum Heisenberg model on a simple cubic lattice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mariz, A.M.; Tsallis, C.; Santos, R.M.Z. dos; Santos, Raimundo R. dos.

    1984-11-01

    Within a Real Space Renormalization Group Framework, the criticality (phase diagram, and critical thermal and crossover exponents) of the spin 1/2 - anisotropic quantum Heisenberg ferromagnet on a simple cubic lattice is studied. The results obtained are in antisfactory agreement with known results whenever available. (Author) [pt

  13. Zr doping dependence of structural and magnetic properties of cobalt ferrite synthesized by sol-gel based Pechini method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Motavallian, Pourya; Abasht, Behzad; Abdollah-Pour, Hassan

    2018-04-01

    Nanocrystalline CoZrxFe2-xO4 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.3 in a step of 0.05) powders were synthesized by Pechini sol-gel method. The dry gel was grinded and calcined at 700 °C in a static air atmosphere for 1 h. Some tests such as thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) combined with differential analysis (DTA), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) were carried out to investigate the thermal behaviour, structural bonds identification, crystallographic properties, morphology and magnetic properties of the obtained powders. X-ray diffraction revealed a single-phase cubic spinel structure for all samples, where the crystallite size decreases; the lattice parameter simultaneously increases with substitution of Zr. The results of FE-SEM showed that the particle size is in the 20-70 nm range. The magnetic properties such as saturation magnetization (Ms), remanent magnetization (Mr) and coercivity (Hc) were measured from the hysteresis loops. The greatest amount of saturation magnetization for CoZr0.05Fe1.95O4 sample was 67.9 emu·g-1.

  14. Selective solid phase extraction and pre-concentration of heavy metals from seawater by physically and chemically immobilized 4-amino-3-hydroxy-2-(2-chlorobenzene)-azo-1-naphtalene sulfonic acid silica gel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mahmoud, M.E.; Soayed, A.A.; Hafez, O.F.

    2003-01-01

    4-Amino-3-hydroxy-2 - (2-chlorobenzene)-azo-l-naphthalene sulfonic acid (AHCANSA) was used as a chelating modifier to improve the reactivity of the silica gel surface in terms of selective binding and extraction of heavy metal ions. The surface cover-age values were found to be 0.488 and 0.473 mmol g -1 for the newly modified physically adsorbed silica gel phase (I) and chemically immobilized-AHCANSA phase (II), respectively. The modified silica gel phases (I, II) were tested for stability in different acidic buffer solutions (pH 1-6) and found to be highly resistant to hydrolysis and leaching by buffer solutions above pH 2. The application of these two phases as solid extractors for a series of mono-, di-, and tri-valent metal ions from aqueous solutions was also performed with different controlling factors such as the pH value of metal ion solutions and equilibrium shaking time. The mmol g -1 metal capacity values determined by silica gel phases (I, II) were found to confirm high affinity and selectivity characters for binding with heavy metal ions such as Cr 3+ , Ni 2+ , Cu 2+ , Zn 2+ , Cd 2+ and Pb 2+ in a range of 0.250-0.483. The tested alkali and alkaline earth metals, Na + , K + , Mg 2+ and Ca 2+ , were found to exhibit little interaction and binding ability with the modified silica gel phases. The selectivity characters incorporated into the modified silica gel phases were further utilized and applied in solid phase extraction and pre-concentration of trace concentration levels (∼1.0 μg mL -1 and 2.00-2.50 ng mL -1 ) from real seawater samples. The percentage recovery values determined for Cr 3+ , Cu 2+ , Zn 2+ , Cd 2+ and Pb 2+ were found to be in the range of 95.2-98.1 ± 2.0-5.0 %, and the pre-concentration recovery values for the same tested heavy metal ions were found to be in the range of 92.5-97.1 ± 3.0-6.0 % for the two newly modified silica gel phases with a pre-concentration factor of 500. Refs. 25 (author)

  15. Thermotropic phase transition in aqueous polymer solutions and gels as studied by .sup.1./sup.H NMR methods

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Spěváček, Jiří; Hanyková, L.; Starovoytova, L.; Ilavský, Michal

    2002-01-01

    Roč. 2, č. 3 (2002), s. 36-43 ISSN 1335-8243 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA4050209 Grant - others:GA UK(XC) 164/2001B Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z4050913 Keywords : thermotropic phase transition * collapse * D 2 O solutions and gels Subject RIV: CD - Macromolecular Chemistry

  16. SAXS study of silica sols, gels and glasses obtained by the sol gel process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Santos, D.I. dos; Aegerter, M.A.

    1988-01-01

    Systematic SAXS studies have been performed at the LURE Synchrotron, Orsay, using an intense beam of point like cross-section to obtain information about the sol -> humid gel -> dried gel -> silica glass transformation. The intensity curves have been analysed in term of power law in log-log plots, whose exponent is related to mass and surface fractal dimensions of the structure. It was found that almost all phases present fractal structures and for the case of basic gels, is of hierarchical nature. The aerogels are formed by a dense matrix, with a smooth surface and exhibit a very narrow auto-similarity range that gives a mass fractal dimension. (author) [pt

  17. Epitaxial growth of high purity cubic InN films on MgO substrates using HfN buffer layers by pulsed laser deposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ohba, R.; Ohta, J.; Shimomoto, K.; Fujii, T.; Okamoto, K.; Aoyama, A.; Nakano, T.; Kobayashi, A.; Fujioka, H.; Oshima, M.

    2009-01-01

    Cubic InN films have been grown on MgO substrates with HfN buffer layers by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). It has been found that the use of HfN (100) buffer layers allows us to grow cubic InN (100) films with an in-plane epitaxial relationship of [001] InN //[001] HfN //[001] MgO . X-ray diffraction and electron back-scattered diffraction measurements have revealed that the phase purity of the cubic InN films was as high as 99%, which can be attributed to the use of HfN buffer layers and the enhanced surface migration of the film precursors by the use of PLD. - Graphical abstract: Cubic InN films have been grown on MgO substrates with HfN buffer layers by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). It has been revealed that the phase purity of the cubic InN films was as high as 99 %, which can be attributed to the use of HfN buffer layers and the enhanced surface migration of the film precursors by the use of PLD.

  18. Structural phase transition of BaZrO3 under high pressure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, Xue; Li, Quanjun; Liu, Ran; Liu, Bo; Zhang, Huafang; Jiang, Shuqing; Zou, Bo; Cui, Tian; Liu, Bingbing; Liu, Jing

    2014-01-01

    We studied the phase transition behavior of cubic BaZrO 3 perovskite by in situ high pressure synchrotron X-ray diffraction experiments up to 46.4 GPa at room temperature. The phase transition from cubic phase to tetragonal phase was observed in BaZrO 3 for the first time, which takes place at 17.2 GPa. A bulk modulus 189 (26) GPa for cubic BaZrO 3 is derived from the pressure–volume data. Upon decompression, the high pressure phase transforms into the initial cubic phase. It is suggested that the unstable phonon mode caused by the rotation of oxygen octahedra plays a crucial role in the high pressure phase transition behavior of BaZrO 3

  19. Structural phase transitions in Zn(CN)2 under high pressures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Poswal, H.K.; Tyagi, A.K.; Lausi, Andrea; Deb, S.K.; Sharma, Surinder M.

    2009-01-01

    High pressure behavior of zinc cyanide (Zn(CN) 2 ) has been investigated with the help of synchrotron-based X-ray diffraction measurements. Our studies reveal that under pressure this compound undergoes phase transformations and the structures of the new phases depend on whether the pressure is hydrostatic or not. Under hydrostatic conditions, Zn(CN) 2 transforms from cubic to orthorhombic to cubic-II to amorphous phases. In contrast, the non-hydrostatic pressure conditions drive the ambient cubic phase to a partially disordered crystalline phase, which eventually evolves to a substantially disordered phase. The final disordered phase in the latter case is distinct from the amorphous phase observed under the hydrostatic pressures. - Graphical abstract: High pressure X-ray diffraction investigations on Zn(CN) 2 show three phase transformations i.e., cubic→orthorhombic→cubic-II→amorphous. However, the results strongly depend upon the nature of stress

  20. Preparation of macroporous zirconia monoliths from ionic precursors via an epoxide-mediated sol-gel process accompanied by phase separation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guo, Xingzhong; Song, Jie; Lvlin, Yixiu; Yang, Hui; Nakanishi, Kazuki; Kanamori, Kazuyoshi

    2015-01-01

    Monolithic macroporous zirconia (ZrO 2 ) derived from ionic precursors has been successfully fabricated via the epoxide-mediated sol-gel route accompanied by phase separation in the presence of propylene oxide (PO) and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO). The addition of PO used as an acid scavenger mediates the gelation, whereas PEO enhances the polymerization-induced phase separation. The appropriate choice of the starting compositions allows the production of a macroporous zirconia monolith with a porosity of 52.9% and a Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area of 171.9 m 2 · g −1 . The resultant dried gel is amorphous, whereas tetragonal ZrO 2 and monoclinic ZrO 2 are precipitated at 400 and 600 °C, respectively, without spoiling the macroporous morphology. After solvothermal treatment with an ethanol solution of ammonia, tetragonal ZrO 2 monoliths with smooth skeletons and well-defined mesopores can be obtained, and the BET surface area is enhanced to 583.8 m 2 · g −1 . (paper)

  1. Numerical modelling and experimental study of liquid evaporation during gel formation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pokusaev, B. G.; Khramtsov, D. P.

    2017-11-01

    Gels are promising materials in biotechnology and medicine as a medium for storing cells for bioprinting applications. Gel is a two-phase system consisting of solid medium and liquid phase. Understanding of a gel structure evolution and gel aging during liquid evaporation is a crucial step in developing new additive bioprinting technologies. A numerical and experimental study of liquid evaporation was performed. In experimental study an evaporation process of an agarose gel layer located on Petri dish was observed and mass difference was detected using electronic scales. Numerical model was based on a smoothed particle hydrodynamics method. Gel in a model was represented as a solid-liquid system and liquid evaporation was modelled due to capillary forces and heat transfer. Comparison of experimental data and numerical results demonstrated that model can adequately represent evaporation process in agarose gel.

  2. Investigation of Room Temperature Synthesis of Titanium Dioxide Nanoclusters Dispersed on Cubic MCM-48 Mesoporous Materials

    OpenAIRE

    Sridhar Budhi; Chia-Ming Wu; Dan Zhao; Ranjit T. Koodali

    2015-01-01

    Titania containing cubic MCM-48 mesoporous materials were synthesized successfully at room temperature by a modified Stöber method. The integrity of the cubic mesoporous phase was retained even at relatively high loadings of titania. The TiO2-MCM-48 materials were extensively characterized by a variety of physico-chemical techniques. The physico-chemical characterization indicate that Ti4+ ions can be substituted in framework tetrahedral positions. The relative amount of Ti4+ ions in tetrahe...

  3. Multi-dimensional cubic interpolation for ICF hydrodynamics simulation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aoki, Takayuki; Yabe, Takashi.

    1991-04-01

    A new interpolation method is proposed to solve the multi-dimensional hyperbolic equations which appear in describing the hydrodynamics of inertial confinement fusion (ICF) implosion. The advection phase of the cubic-interpolated pseudo-particle (CIP) is greatly improved, by assuming the continuities of the second and the third spatial derivatives in addition to the physical value and the first derivative. These derivatives are derived from the given physical equation. In order to evaluate the new method, Zalesak's example is tested, and we obtain successfully good results. (author)

  4. Cubic martensite in high carbon steel

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yulin; Xiao, Wenlong; Jiao, Kun; Ping, Dehai; Xu, Huibin; Zhao, Xinqing; Wang, Yunzhi

    2018-05-01

    A distinguished structural characteristic of martensite in Fe-C steels is its tetragonality originating from carbon atoms occupying only one set of the three available octahedral interstitial sites in the body-centered-cubic (bcc) Fe lattice. Such a body-centered-tetragonal (bct) structure is believed to be thermodynamically stable because of elastic interactions between the interstitial carbon atoms. For such phase stability, however, there has been a lack of direct experimental evidence despite extensive studies of phase transformations in steels over one century. In this Rapid Communication, we report that the martensite formed in a high carbon Fe-8Ni-1.26C (wt%) steel at room temperature induced by applied stress/strain has actually a bcc rather than a bct crystal structure. This finding not only challenges the existing theories on the stability of bcc vs bct martensite in high carbon steels, but also provides insights into the mechanism for martensitic transformation in ferrous alloys.

  5. Efficient Reservoir Simulation with Cubic Plus Association and Cross-Association Equation of State for Multicomponent Three-Phase Compressible Flow with Applications in CO2 Storage and Methane Leakage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moortgat, J.

    2017-12-01

    We present novel simulation tools to model multiphase multicomponent flow and transport in porous media for mixtures that contain non-polar hydrocarbons, self-associating polar water, and cross-associating molecules like methane, ethane, unsaturated hydrocarbons, CO2 and H2S. Such mixtures often occur when CO2 is injected and stored in saline aquifers, or when methane is leaking into groundwater. To accurately predict the species transfer between aqueous, gaseous and oleic phases, and the subsequent change in phase properties, the self- and cross-associating behavior of molecules needs to be taken into account, particularly at the typical temperatures and pressures in deep formations. The Cubic-Plus-Association equation-of-state (EOS) has been demonstrated to be highly accurate for such problems but its excessive computational cost has prevented widespread use in reservoir simulators. We discuss the thermodynamical framework and develop sophisticated numerical algorithms that allow reservoir simulations with efficiencies comparable to a simple cubic EOS. This approach improves our predictive powers for highly nonlinear fluid behavior related to geological carbon sequestration, such as density driven flow and natural convection (solubility trapping), evaporation of water into the CO2-rich gas phase, and competitive dissolution-evaporation when CO2 is injected in, e.g., methane saturated aquifers. Several examples demonstrate the accuracy and robustness of this EOS framework for complex applications.

  6. Upper and lower bounds on the set of recoverable strains and on effective energies in cubic-to-monoclinic martensitic phase transformations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Schlömerkemper Anja

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available A major open problem in the mathematical analysis of martensitic phase transformations is the derivation of explicit formulae for the set of recoverable strains and for the relaxed energy of the system. These are governed by the mathematical notion of quasiconvexity. Here we focus on bounds on these quasiconvex hulls and envelopes in the setting of geometrically-linear elasticity. Firstly, we will present mathematical results on triples of transformation strains. This yields further insight into the quasiconvex hull of the twelve transformation strains in cubic-to-monoclinic phase transformations. Secondly, we consider bounds on the energy of such materials based on the so-called energy of mixing thus obtaining a lamination upper bound on the quasiconvex envelope of the energy. Here we present a new algorithm that yields improved upper bounds and allows us to relate numerical results for the lamination upper bound on the energy with theoretical inner bounds on the quasiconvex hull of triples of transformation strains.

  7. Elastic energy and metastable phase equilibria for coherent mixtures in cubic systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Williams, R.O.

    1979-02-01

    Expressions were derived for the elastic energy due to coherency for cubic systems for an isotropic structure and for (100) or (111) habit planes for a lamellar structure. For the metastable equilibria the usual tangent compositions are replaced by compositions that are tangent to the elastic energy curve. For a loss of coherency there is an energy decrease due to the elastic effects and a further decrease associated with compositional changes. Information contained within this treatment permits calculation of the x-ray diffraction effects for such structures

  8. Structure of gels layers with cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pokusaev, B. G.; Karlov, S. P.; Vyazmin, A. V.; Nekrasov, D. A.; Zakharov, N. S.; Khramtsov, D. P.; Skladnev, D. A.; Tyupa, D. V.

    2017-11-01

    The structure of two-layer agarose gels containing yeast cells is investigated experimentally by spectrometry, to shed a light on the theoretical foundations for the development of bioreactors by the method of 3D bioprinting. Due to division, cells overcome the layer of the dispersion phase separating successively applied layers of the agarose gel. However a gel layer of 100 μm thick with a high concentration of silver nanoparticles completely excludes the infiltration of yeast cells through it. A special sort of agarose is suggested where the concentration of silver nanoparticles formed by cells from salt of silver can serve as an indicator of the state of the yeast cells in the volume of the gel.

  9. Interpolation of natural cubic spline

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arun Kumar

    1992-01-01

    Full Text Available From the result in [1] it follows that there is a unique quadratic spline which bounds the same area as that of the function. The matching of the area for the cubic spline does not follow from the corresponding result proved in [2]. We obtain cubic splines which preserve the area of the function.

  10. Crystal structures of orthorhombic, hexagonal, and cubic compounds of the Sm(x)Yb(2−x)TiO5 series

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aughterson, Robert D.; Lumpkin, Gregory R.; Reyes, Massey de los; Sharma, Neeraj; Ling, Christopher D.; Gault, Baptiste; Smith, Katherine L.; Avdeev, Maxim; Cairney, Julie M.

    2014-01-01

    A series of single phase compounds with nominal stoichiometry Sm (x) Yb (2−x) TiO 5 (x=2, 1.4, 1, 0.6, and 0) have been successfully fabricated to generate a range of crystal structures covering the most common polymorphs previously discovered in the Ln 2 TiO 5 series (Ln=lanthanides and yttrium). Four of the five samples have not been previously fabricated in bulk, single phase form so their crystal structures are refined and detailed using powder synchrotron and single crystal x-ray diffraction, neutron diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Based on the phase information from diffraction data, there are four crystal structure types in this series; orthorhombic Pnma, hexagonal P6 3 /mmc, cubic (pyrochlore-like) Fd-3m and cubic (fluorite-like) Fm-3m. The cubic materials show modulated structures with variation between long and short range ordering and the variety of diffraction techniques were used to describe these complex crystal structure types. - Graphical abstract: A high resolution image of the compound Sm 0.6 Yb 1.4 TiO 5 showing contrast from lattice fringes and the corresponding fast Fourier transform (FFT) of the HREM image with pyrochlore related diffraction spots marked “P” and fluorite marked “F”. The crystal is oriented down the [1 1 0] zone axis based on the Fd-3m structure. The ideal crystal structure (no vacancies) of the cubic, pyrochlore-like (Sm 0.6 Yb 1.4 TiO 5 ). - Highlights: • First fabrication of bulk single-phase material with stoichiometry Sm 2 TiO 5 . • Systematic study of crystal structure types within Ln 2 TiO 5 series (Ln=lanthanides). • A novel technique using IFFT of HREM images to study cubic structures

  11. Determination of asphaltene onset conditions using the cubic plus association equation of state

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Arya, Alay; von Solms, Nicolas; Kontogeorgis, Georgios M.

    2015-01-01

    The cubic-plus-association (CPA) equation of state (EoS) has already been proven to be a successful model for phase equilibrium calculations for systems containing associating components and has already been applied for asphaltene modeling by few researchers. In the present work, we apply the CPA...

  12. First-principles cluster variation calculations of tetragonal-cubic transition in ZrO2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mohri, Tetsuo; Chen, Ying; Kiyokane, Naoya

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: ► Cluster variation method is extended to study displacive transition. ► Electronic structure total energy calculations are performed on ZrO2. ► Tetragonal-cubic transition is studied within the framework of order -disorder transition. -- Abstract: It is attempted to extend the basic idea of continuous displacement cluster variation method (CDCVM) to the study of a displacive phase transition. As a preliminary study, we focus on cubic to tetragonal transition in ZrO 2 in which oxygen atoms on the cubic lattice are displaced alternatively in the opposite direction (upward and downward) along the tetragonal axis. Within the CDCVM, displaced atoms are regarded as different atomic species, and two distinguished atoms, A-oxygen (upward shifting) and B-oxygen (downward shifting), are introduced in the description of the free energy. FLAPW electronic structure total energy calculations are performed to extract effective interaction energies among displaced oxygen atoms, and by combing them with CDCVM, the transition temperature is calculated from the first-principles

  13. Theoretical investigations of the bulk modulus in the tetra-cubic transition of PbTiO3 material

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Renan A. P. Ribeiro

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Resulting from ion displacement in a solid under pressure, piezoelectricity is an electrical polarization that can be observed in perovskite-type electronic ceramics, such as PbTiO3, which present cubic and tetragonal symmetries at different pressures. The transition between these crystalline phases is determined theoretically through the bulk modulus from the relationship between material energy and volume. However, the change in the material molecular structure is responsible for the piezoelectric effect. In this study, density functional theory calculations using the Becke 3-Parameter-Lee-Yang-Parr hybrid functional were employed to investigate the structure and properties associated with the transition state of the tetragonal-cubic phase change in PbTiO3 material.

  14. Instability of the layered orthorhombic post-perovskite phase of SrTiO3 and other candidate orthorhombic phases under pressure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhandari, Churna; Lambrecht, Walter R. L.

    2018-06-01

    While the tetragonal antiferro-electrically distorted (AFD) phase with space group I 4 / mcm is well known for SrTiO3 to occur below 105 K, there are also some hints in the literature of an orthorhombic phase, either at the lower temperature or at high pressure. A previously proposed orthorhombic layered structure of SrTiO3, known as the post-perovskite or CaIrO3 structure with space group Cmcm is shown to have significantly higher energy than the cubic or tetragonal phase and to have its minimum volume at larger volume than cubic perovskite. The Cmcm structure is thus ruled out. We also study an alternative Pnma phase obtained by two octahedral rotations about different axes. This phase is found to have slightly lower energy than the I 4 / mcm phase in spite of the fact that its parent, in-phase tilted P 4 / mbm phase is not found to occur. Our calculated enthalpies of formation show that the I 4 / mcm phase occurs at slightly higher volume than the cubic phase and has a negative transition pressure relative to the cubic phase, which suggests that it does not correspond to the high-pressure tetragonal phase. The enthalpy of the Pnma phase is almost indistinguishable from the I 4 / mcm phase. Alternative ferro-electric tetragonal and orthorhombic structures previously suggested in literature are discussed.

  15. Pressure-induced phase transformation in ZrW2O8 - Compressibility and thermal expansion of the orthorhombic phase

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hu, Z.; Jorgensen, J.D.; Teslic, S.; Short, S.; Argyriou, D.N.

    1997-01-01

    In situ neutron powder diffraction has been used to show that the application of hydrostatic pressure at room temperature produces a transformation of ZrW 2 O 8 from the cubic to an orthorhombic phase beginning at 2.1 kbar and completed by 3.1 kbar, with a 5% reduction in volume. After release of pressure, the orthorhombic phase is retained at room temperature. Its thermal expansion is negative below room temperature, but is positive above room temperature with a transformation back to the cubic phase at about 390 K. The WO 4 groups are found to play the dominant role in both phase transformations. The volume compressibilities of the cubic and orthorhombic phases are 1.38 x 10 -3 and 1.53 x 10 -3 kbar -1 , respectively. (orig.)

  16. Structure and Phase Transformation in the Giant Magnetostriction Laves-Phase SmFe2

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Xiaonan; Lin, Kun; Gao, Qilong; Zhu, He; Li, Qiang; Cao, Yili; Liu, Zhanning; You, Li; Chen, Jun; Ren, Yang [Argonne National Laboratory, X-Ray Science Division, Argonne, Illinois 60439, United States; Huang, Rongjin [Key Laboratory; Lapidus, Saul H. [Argonne National Laboratory, X-Ray Science Division, Argonne, Illinois 60439, United States; Xing, Xianran

    2017-10-13

    As one class of the most important intermetallic compounds, the binary Laves-phase is well-known for their abundant magnetic properties. Samarium-iron alloy system, SmFe2, is a prototypical Laves compound that shows strong negative magnetostriction but relatively weak magnetocrystalline anisotropy. SmFe2 has been identified as a cubic Fd$ \\overline{3}\\ $m structure at room temperature, however, the cubic symmetry does not match the spontaneous magnetization along the [111]cubic direction. Here we studied the crystal structure of SmFe2 by high-resolution synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction and X-ray total scattering methods. SmFe2 is found to adopt a centrosymmetric trigonal R$ \\overline{3}\\ $m structure at room temperature, which transforms to an orthorhombic Imma structure at 200 K. This transition is in agreement with the changes of easy magnetization direction from [111]cubic to [110]cubic direction, and is further evidenced by the inflexion of thermal expansion behavior, the sharp decline of the magnetic susceptibility in the FC-ZFC curve, and the anomaly in the specific heat capacity measurement. The revised structure and phase transformation of SmFe2 could be useful to understand the magnetostriction and related physical properties of other RM2-type pseudo-cubic Laves-phase intermetallic compounds.

  17. Martensitic phase transformations in Ni–Ti-based shape memory alloys: The Landau theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shchyglo, Oleg; Salman, Umut; Finel, Alphonse

    2012-01-01

    We present a simple Landau free energy functional for cubic-to-orthorhombic and cubic-to-monoclinic martensitic phase transformations. The functional is derived following group–subgroup relations between different martensitic phases – tetragonal, trigonal, orthorhombic and monoclinic – in order to fully capture the symmetry properties of the free energy of the austenite and martensite phases. The derived free energy functional is fitted to the elastic and thermodynamic properties of NiTi and NiTiCu shape memory alloys which exhibit cubic-to-monoclinic and cubic-to-orthorhombic martensitic phase transformations, respectively.

  18. Determination of Aromatic Amines Using Solid-Phase Microextraction Based on an Ionic Liquid-Mediated Sol–Gel Technique

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abbasi, Vajihe; Sarafraz-Yazdi, Ali; Amiri, Amirhassan; Vatani, Hossein

    2016-01-01

    A headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) method was developed for isolation of monocyclic aromatic amines from water samples followed by gas chromatography–flame ionization detector (GC–FID). In this work, the effect of the presence of ionic liquid (namely, 1-hexyl-3-methyl-imidazolium hexafluorophosphate [C6MIM][PF6]) was investigated in the sol–gel coating solutions on the morphology and extraction behavior of the resulting hybrid organic–inorganic sol–gel sorbents utilized in SPME. Hydroxy-terminated poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) was used as the sol–gel active organic component for sol–gel hybrid coatings. Two different coated fibers that were prepared are PDMS and PDMS-IL ([C6MIM][PF6]) fibers. Under the optimal conditions, the method detection limits (S/N = 3) with PDMS-IL were in the range of 0.001–0.1 ng/mL and the limits of quantification (S/N = 10) between 0.005 and 0.5 ng/mL. The relative standard deviations for one fiber (n = 5) were obtained from 3.1 up to 8.5% and between fibers or batch to batch (n = 3) in the range of 5.3–10.1%. The developed method was successfully applied to real water and juice fruits samples while the relative recovery percentages obtained for the spiked water samples at 0.1 ng/mL were from 83.3 to 95.0%. PMID:26759488

  19. Thermal stability and phase transformation in fully indium oxide (InO{sub 1.5}) stabilized zirconia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Piva, R.H., E-mail: honorato.piva@ua.pt; Piva, D.H.; Morelli, M.R.

    2017-01-15

    Indium oxide (InO{sub 1.5}) stabilized zirconia (InSZ) is an attractive material as electrolyte, or electrode, in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), and as corrosion resistant top coat in thermal barrier coatings. However, little is known about the phase stability of cubic InSZ at temperatures that simulate the conditions in an operating SOFC or turbine. This article provides an investigation of the phase stability and phase transformations in cubic InSZ after heat treatments at 800, 1000, and 1200 °C for periods up to 2000 h. The results revealed that cubic InSZ is not stable during annealing at 1000 and 1200 °C, owing to a fast destabilization of the initial cubic phase to tetragonal, and eventually to monoclinic (c → t → m). The c → t → m transition in InSZ is intimately associated with the indium volatilization. On the other hand, cubic InSZ remained stable for 2000 h at 800 °C, although the partial formation of the tetragonal phase was observed along with a 0.25% contraction in the unit cell volume of the cubic phase, caused by short-range ordering. These results demonstrate that technological applications of cubic InSZ are restricted to temperatures at which the volatilization of the InO{sub 1.5} stabilizer does not occur. - Highlights: •Phase stability of fully InO{sub 1.5} stabilized zirconia (cubic InSZ) was evaluated. •Cubic InSZ is instable at temperatures ≥ 1000 °C, owing to the cubic-to-tetragonal-to-monoclinic destabilization. •Cubic InSZ undergoes the cubic-to-tetragonal transformation at ~ 800 °C. •Owing to the low phase stability, applications of cubic InSZ in TBCs or SOFCs are restricted.

  20. Growth of cubic GaN on a nitrided AlGaAs (001) substrate by using hydried vapor phase epitaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, H. J.; Yang, M.; Ahn, H. S.; Kim, K. H.; Yi, J. Y.; Jang, K. S.; Chang, J. H.; Kim, H. S.; Cho, C. R.; Kim, S. W.

    2006-01-01

    GaN layers were grown on AlGaAs (001) substrates by using hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE). Growth parameters such as the nitridation temperature of the AlGaAs substrate and the growth rate of the GaN layer were found to be critical determinants for the growth of cubic GaN layer. Nitridation of the AlGaAs surface was performed in a NH 3 atmosphere at a temperature range of 550 - 700 .deg. C. GaN layers were grown at different growth rates on the nitrided AlGaAs substrates. The surface morphologies and the chemical constituents of the nitrided AlGaAs layers were characterized with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). For the optical and the crystalline characterization of the GaN films, cathodoluminescence (CL) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were carried out.

  1. HRTEM analysis on nanocrystalline BaTiO3 and PbTiO3: size effects on ferroelectric phase transition temperature

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bursill, L.A.; Jiang, B.; Peng, J.L.; Zhong, W.L.; Zhang, P.L.

    1997-01-01

    High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopic studies of nanocrystaline particles of BaTiO 3 and PbTiO 3 are reported. There are characteristic differences observed for BaTiO 3 prepared using sol gel (SG) and steric acid gel (SAG) methods. The former exhibit a critical size below which there is no paraelectric/ferroelectric phase transition, whereas BaTiO 3 prepared via the SAG route remained cubic for all conditions. The SAG preparations always showed chemical intergrowth defects whereas the SG preparations were single phase. Atomic resolution images of both varieties showed interesting surface steps and surface relaxations/reconstructions of some facets. Nanocrystalline PbTiO 3 prepared by the SG route remains tetragonal, albeit with decreasing c/a ratio, down to 25nm diameter. HRTEM observations of nanocrystalline PbTiO 3 are also presented. X-ray diffraction, dielectric and Raman scattering measurements also demonstrate pronounced size effects. The relationship between the observed nanostructures and size effects on the physical properties is discussed. 6 refs., 1 tab., 6 figs

  2. Hydrothermal synthesis and white light emission of cubic ZrO2:Eu3+ nanocrystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meetei, Sanoujam Dhiren; Singh, Shougaijam Dorendrajit

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • White light emitting cubic ZrO 2 :Eu 3+ nanocrystal is synthesized by hydrothermal technique. • Eu 3+ is used to stabilize crystalline phase and to get red counterpart of the white light. • Defect emission and Eu 3+ emission combined to give white light. • The white light emitted from this nanocrystal resembles vertical daylight of the Sun. • Lifetime corresponding to red counterpart of the sample is far longer than conventional white light emitters. -- Abstract: Production of white light has been a promising area of luminescence studies. In this work, white light emitting nanocrystals of cubic zirconia doped with Eu 3+ are synthesized by hydrothermal technique. The dopant Eu 3+ is used to stabilize crystalline phase to cubic and at the same time to get red counterpart of the white light. The synthesis procedure is simple and precursor required no further annealing for crystallization. X-ray diffraction patterns show the crystalline phase of ZrO 2 :Eu 3+ to be cubic and it is confirmed by Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy. From transmission electron microscopy images, size of the crystals is found to be ∼5 nm. Photoluminescence emission spectrum of the sample, on monitoring excitation at O 2− –Eu 3+ charge transfer state shows broad peak due to O 2− of the zirconia and that of Eu 3+ emission. Commission Internationale de l’éclairage co-ordinate of this nanocrystal (0.32, 0.34) is closed to that of the ideal white light (0.33, 0.33). Correlated color temperature of the white light (5894 K) is within the range of vertical daylight. Lifetime (1.32 ms) corresponding to 5 D 0 energy level of the Eu 3+ is found to be far longer than conventional red counterparts of white light emitters. It suggests that the ZrO 2 :Eu 3+ nanocrystals synthesized by hydrothermal technique may find applications in simulating the vertical daylight of the Sun

  3. Cubical sets as a classifying topos

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Spitters, Bas

    Coquand’s cubical set model for homotopy type theory provides the basis for a computational interpretation of the univalence axiom and some higher inductive types, as implemented in the cubical proof assistant. We show that the underlying cube category is the opposite of the Lawvere theory of De...... Morgan algebras. The topos of cubical sets itself classifies the theory of ‘free De Morgan algebras’. This provides us with a topos with an internal ‘interval’. Using this interval we construct a model of type theory following van den Berg and Garner. We are currently investigating the precise relation...

  4. Generalized Vaidya spacetime for cubic gravity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruan, Shan-Ming

    2016-03-01

    We present a kind of generalized Vaidya solution of a new cubic gravity in five dimensions whose field equations in spherically symmetric spacetime are always second order like the Lovelock gravity. We also study the thermodynamics of its spherically symmetric apparent horizon and get its entropy expression and generalized Misner-Sharp energy. Finally, we present the first law and second law hold in this gravity. Although all the results are analogous to those in Lovelock gravity, we in fact introduce the contribution of a new cubic term in five dimensions where the cubic Lovelock term is just zero.

  5. Synthesis of Bi4Si3O12 powders by a sol–gel method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xie Huidong; Jia Caixia; Jiang Yuanru; Wang Xiaochang

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► Bi 4 Si 3 O 12 were synthesized by a sol–gel method, using stoichiometric materials. ► The calcining process of the as-dried gel was studied by different analyses. ► Phase separation in the sol–gel process was found during the calcination. - Abstract: Micro-crystals of bismuth orthosilicate (Bi 4 Si 3 O 12 ) were synthesized by a sol–gel method, using stoichiometric Si(OC 2 H 5 ) 4 , Bi(NO 3 ) 3 ·5H 2 O as the precursors and acetic acid as the solvent. The calcining process of the as-dried gel was studied by total gravity/differential scanning calory (TG/DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and infrared (IR) spectra. Experiments showed that single phase of Bi 4 Si 3 O 12 could be obtained by sol–gel method at a calcining temperature of 900 °C. Phase separation in the sol–gel process was found during the calcination.

  6. Influence of a hydrostatic pressure on the diffusion in metals having a cubic structure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beyeler, M.

    1969-01-01

    In view of obtaining informations on the structure of vacancies. We have determined, by diffusion experiments under high pressure, the activation volumes for self diffusion in different face centered cubic metals: silver, gold, copper, aluminium and in body centered cubic uranium (gamma phase). Activation volumes for noble metals diffusion in aluminium have also been investigated. The experimental results on gold, silver and copper are in good agreement with most of the theoretical models. The estimated activation volume for gamma uranium seems to indicate a vacancy mechanism.The results on aluminium for both self and impurity diffusion agree quite well with Friedel's theoretical predictions [fr

  7. Preparation of high-pressure phase boron nitride films by physical vapor deposition

    CERN Document Server

    Zhu, P W; Zhao, Y N; Li, D M; Liu, H W; Zou Guang Tian

    2002-01-01

    The high-pressure phases boron nitride films together with cubic, wurtzic, and explosive high-pressure phases, were successfully deposited on the metal alloy substrates by tuned substrate radio frequency magnetron sputtering. The percentage of cubic boron nitride phase in the film was about 50% as calculated by Fourier transform infrared measurements. Infrared peak position of cubic boron nitride at 1006.3 cm sup - sup 1 , which is close to the stressless state, indicates that the film has very low internal stress. Transition electron microscope micrograph shows that pure cubic boron nitride phase exits on the surface of the film. The growth mechanism of the BN films was also discussed.

  8. Thixotropic gel-like composition and sterile blood-collecting and separating device

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Semersky, F.E.

    1980-01-01

    A thixotropic gel-like composition comprising liquid polybutadiene and an inorganic inert filler dispersed therein is adapted for use as a sealing barrier between separated phases of differing densities of a fluid in which said composition has at rest a density intermediate said differing densities, said gel-like composition being substantially resistant to sterilizing radiation. There is also disclosed a pre-packaged blood collecting and separating device which contains a mixture of liquid polybutadiene and an inorganic, inert filler, such as silica, as a thixotropic gel adapted at rest to form a sealing barrier between separated blood phases. The device and gel are subjected to sterilizing radiation to form a substantially sterile device, substantially free of backflow contamination without degradation of the physical properties of the gel. (author)

  9. On the structure of critical energy levels for the cubic focusing NLS on star graphs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Adami, Riccardo; Noja, Diego; Cacciapuoti, Claudio; Finco, Domenico

    2012-01-01

    We provide information on a non-trivial structure of phase space of the cubic nonlinear Schrödinger (NLS) on a three-edge star graph. We prove that, in contrast to the case of the standard NLS on the line, the energy associated with the cubic focusing Schrödinger equation on the three-edge star graph with a free (Kirchhoff) vertex does not attain a minimum value on any sphere of constant L 2 -norm. We moreover show that the only stationary state with prescribed L 2 -norm is indeed a saddle point. (fast track communication)

  10. Ab initio study of mechanical and thermo-acoustic properties of tough ceramics: applications to HfO2 in its cubic and orthorhombic phase

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ponce, C A; Casali, R A; Caravaca, M A

    2008-01-01

    By means of the ab initio all-electron new full-potential linear-muffin-tin orbitals method, calculations were made for elastic constants C 11 , C 12 and C 44 for Si, ZrO 2 and HfO 2 in their cubic phase, and constants C 11 , C 22 , C 33 , C 12 , C 13 , C 23 , C 44 , C 55 and C 66 for HfO 2 in its orthorhombic phase. Using the Voigt and Reuss theory, estimations were made for polycrystals of their bulk, shear and Young moduli, and Poisson coefficients. The speed of elastic wave propagations and Debye temperatures were estimated for polycrystals built from Si and the above mentioned compounds. The semicore 4f 14 electrons should be included in the valence set of Hf atom in this all-electron approach if accurate results for elastic properties under pressures are looked for

  11. Mucosal effects of tenofovir 1% gel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hladik, Florian; Burgener, Adam; Ballweber, Lamar; Gottardo, Raphael; Vojtech, Lucia; Fourati, Slim; Dai, James Y; Cameron, Mark J; Strobl, Johanna; Hughes, Sean M; Hoesley, Craig; Andrew, Philip; Johnson, Sherri; Piper, Jeanna; Friend, David R; Ball, T Blake; Cranston, Ross D; Mayer, Kenneth H; McElrath, M Juliana; McGowan, Ian

    2015-02-03

    Tenofovir gel is being evaluated for vaginal and rectal pre-exposure prophylaxis against HIV transmission. Because this is a new prevention strategy, we broadly assessed its effects on the mucosa. In MTN-007, a phase-1, randomized, double-blinded rectal microbicide trial, we used systems genomics/proteomics to determine the effect of tenofovir 1% gel, nonoxynol-9 2% gel, placebo gel or no treatment on rectal biopsies (15 subjects/arm). We also treated primary vaginal epithelial cells from four healthy women with tenofovir in vitro. After seven days of administration, tenofovir 1% gel had broad-ranging effects on the rectal mucosa, which were more pronounced than, but different from, those of the detergent nonoxynol-9. Tenofovir suppressed anti-inflammatory mediators, increased T cell densities, caused mitochondrial dysfunction, altered regulatory pathways of cell differentiation and survival, and stimulated epithelial cell proliferation. The breadth of mucosal changes induced by tenofovir indicates that its safety over longer-term topical use should be carefully monitored.

  12. Effects of alcohols on gas holdup and volumetric liquid-phase mass transfer coefficient in gel-particle-suspended bubble column

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Salvacion, J.; Murayama, M.; Otaguchi, K.; Koide, K. [Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo (Japan)

    1995-08-20

    The effects of alcohols, column dimensions, gas velocity, physical properties of liquids, and gel particles on the gas holdup e{sub G} and the volumetric liquid-phase mass transfer coefficient k{sub L}a in a gel-particle-suspended bubble column under liquid-solid batch operation were studied experimentally. It was shown that addition of at alcohols to water generally increases e{sub G}. However, k{sub L}a values in aqueous solutions of alcohols became larger or smaller than those in water, according to the kind and concentration of the alcohol added to water. It was also shown that the presence of suspended gel-particles in the bubble column reduces values of e{sub G} and k{sub L}a. Based on these observations, empirical equations for e{sub G} in the transition regime in an ethanol solution, for e{sub G} in the heterogeneous now regime applicable to various alcohol solutions and for k{sub L}a in both now regimes were proposed. 18 refs., 12 figs., 3 tabs.

  13. Spinning solitons in cubic-quintic nonlinear media

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Spinning solitons in cubic-quintic nonlinear media ... features of families of bright vortex solitons (doughnuts, or 'spinning' solitons) in both conservative and dissipative cubic-quintic nonlinear media. ... Pramana – Journal of Physics | News.

  14. Surface interaction between cubic phase NaNbO3 nanoflowers and Ru nanoparticles for enhancing visible-light driven photosensitized photocatalysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Wei; Hu, Yin; Ba, Mingwei

    2018-03-01

    Ru nanoparticles supported on perovskite NaNbO3 with cubic crystal structure and nanoflower-like morphology was prepared by a convenient solvothermal method combined with photo-deposition technique. Crystal structure, chemical component and surface valence states determined by XRD, XPS, TEM and SEM demonstrated the metastable cubic phase of perovskite NaNbO3, and its modified surface by Ru species. Optical and electrochemical analysis, such as UV-vis DRS, OTCS and EIS, indicated the excellent photoelectrochemical properties and the efficient electron transfer of the composites. Compared with naked and Ru-doped NaNbO3, the composite photocatalyst exhibited outstanding performance for the degradation of RhB under visible light irradiation due to the dye self-photosensitization and the surface interaction between Ru metal nanoparticles and semiconductor. In-situ reduction of surface Ru oxide species in the photocatalytic process assisted the further improvement of the photocatalytic activity and stability. Investigation of the main active species during the photocatalysis confirmed the efficient transfer of the photo-generated electrons and the positive effect of oxygen defects in NaNbO3. Finally, possible mechanism of the present visible-light driven photocatalysis was proposed in detail. This work provided an alternative strategy to enhance the visible-light photocatalytic efficiency of the catalyst with wide band gap on the basis of the synergistic effect of dye self-photosensitization, interaction between NaNbO3 and its surface Ru nanoparticles, and the "self-doping" of oxygen defects in NaNbO3.

  15. Dicyanamide Salts that Adopt Smectic, Columnar, or Bicontinuous Cubic Liquid-Crystalline Mesophases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Geonhui; Goossens, Karel; Shin, Tae Joo; Bielawski, Christopher W

    2018-04-25

    Although dicyanamide (i.e., [N(CN) 2 ] - ) has been commonly used to obtain low-viscosity, halogen-free, room-temperature ionic liquids, liquid-crystalline salts containing such anions have remained virtually unexplored. Here we report a series of amphiphilic dicyanamide salts that, depending on their structures and compositions, adopt smectic, columnar, or bicontinuous cubic thermotropic liquid-crystalline mesophases, even at room temperature in some cases. Their thermal properties were explored by polarized light optical microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis (including evolved gas analysis), and variable-temperature synchrotron X-ray diffraction. Comparison of the thermal phase characteristics of these new liquid-crystalline salts featuring "V-shaped" [N(CN) 2 ] - anions with those of structural analogues containing [SCN] - , [BF 4 ] - , [PF 6 ] - , or [CF 3 SO 3 ] - anions indicated that not only the size of the counterion but also its shape should be considered in the development of mesomorphic salts. Collectively, these discoveries may be expected to facilitate the design of thermotropic ionic liquid crystals that form inverted-type bicontinuous cubic and other sophisticated liquid-crystalline phases. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  16. Phase Composition of Samarium Niobate and Tantalate Thin Films Prepared by Sol-Gel Method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bruncková, H.; Medvecký, Ľ.; Múdra, E.; Kovalčiková, A.; Ďurišin, J.; Šebek, M.; Girman, V.

    2017-12-01

    Samarium niobate SmNbO4 (SNO) and tantalate SmTaO4 (STO) thin films ( 100 nm) were prepared by sol-gel/spin-coating process on alumina substrates with PZT interlayer and annealing at 1000°C. The precursors of films were synthesized using Nb or Ta tartrate complexes. The improvement of the crystallinity of monoclinic M'-SmTaO4 phase via heating was observed through the coexistence of small amounts of tetragonal T-SmTa7O19 phase in STO precursor at 1000°C. The XRD results of SNO and STO films confirmed monoclinic M-SmNbO4 and M'-SmTaO4 phases, respectively, with traces of orthorhombic O-SmNbO4 (in SNO). In STO film, the single monoclinic M'-SmTaO4 phase was revealed. The surface morphology and topography of thin films were investigated by SEM and AFM analysis. STO film was smoother with roughness 3.2 nm in comparison with SNO (6.3 nm). In the microstructure of SNO film, small spherical ( 50 nm) and larger cuboidal particles ( 100 nm) of the SmNbO4 phase were observed. In STO, compact clusters composed of fine spherical SmTaO4 particles ( 20-50 nm) were found. Effect of samarium can contribute to the formation different polymorphs of these films for the application to environmental electrolytic thin film devices.

  17. Phase separation in biopolymer gels: a low- to high-solid exploration of structural morphology and functionality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kasapis, Stefan

    2008-04-01

    Phase separation in protein and polysaccharide gels remains one of the basic tools of achieving the required structural properties and textural profile in food product formulations. As ever, the industrialist is faced with the challenge of innovation in an increasingly competitive market in terms of ingredient cost, product added-value, and expectations of a healthy life-style to mention but a few. It appears, however, that a gap persists between the fundamental knowledge and a direct application to food related concepts with a growing need for scientific input. Furthermore, within the context of materials science, there is a tendency to examine research findings in either low- or high-solid systems without considering synergistic insights/benefits to contemporary needs, spanning the full range of relevant time-, length-, and concentration scales. This review highlights the latest attempts made to utilize and further develop fundamental protocols from the advanced synthetic polymer research as a source of inspiration for contemporary bio-related applications in low- and intermediate-solid composite gels. Then, it takes advantage of this school of thought to "force a passage" through the phase topology and molecular dynamics of binary biopolymer mixtures at high levels of co-solute. It is hoped that these phenomenological and fundamental tools should be able to bridge the divide in the analysis of the two "types" of composite materials (from low to high solids) thus dealing effectively with the specific and often intricate problems of their science and applications.

  18. Energy storage crystalline gel materials for 3D printing application

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mao, Yuchen; Miyazaki, Takuya; Gong, Jin; Zhu, Meifang

    2017-04-01

    Phase change materials (PCMs) are considered one of the most reliable latent heat storage and thermoregulation materials. In this paper, a vinyl monomer is used to provide energy storage capacity and synthesize gel with phase change property. The side chain of copolymer form crystal microcell to storage/release energy through phase change. The crosslinking structure of the copolymer can protect the crystalline micro-area maintaining the phase change stable in service and improving the mechanical strength. By selecting different monomers and adjusting their ratios, we design the chemical structure and the crystallinity of gels, which in further affect their properties, such as strength, flexibility, thermal absorb/release transition temperature, transparency and the water content. Using the light-induced polymerization 3D printing techniques, we synthesize the energy storage gel and shape it on a 3D printer at the same time. By optimizing the 3D printing conditions, including layer thickness, curing time and light source, etc., the 3D printing objects are obtained.

  19. Direct crystallization of perovskite phase in PMN-PT thin films prepared by polyvinylpyrrolidone modified sol-gel processing and their properties

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Du, Z.H.; Zhang, T.S.; Zhu, M.M.; Ma, J.

    2009-01-01

    A modified sol-gel processing has been developed by using polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as modifier and lead nitrate as lead source to synthesize (1-x)Pb(Mg 1/3 ,Nb 2/3 )O 3 -xPbTiO 3 (PMN-PT) thin films with x=0.23-0.43. With PVP additions, perovskite phase could directly crystallize from amorphous films at the temperature as low as 430 deg. C via bypassing the metastable phase-pyrochlore and crystallinity was significantly enhanced. The PVP addictives have been optimized with molecular weight 1/3 ,Nb 2/3 )O 3 -PbTiO 3 films via bypassing pyrochlore phase.

  20. Hierarchical self-assembly of telechelic star polymers: from soft patchy particles to gels and diamond crystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Capone, Barbara; Coluzza, Ivan; Blaak, Ronald; Likos, Christos N; Verso, Federica Lo

    2013-01-01

    The design of self-assembling materials in the nanometer scale focuses on the fabrication of a class of organic and inorganic subcomponents that can be reliably produced on a large scale and tailored according to their vast applications for, e.g. electronics, therapeutic vectors and diagnostic imaging agent carriers, or photonics. In a recent publication (Capone et al 2012 Phys. Rev. Lett. 109 238301), diblock copolymer stars have been shown to be a novel system, which is able to hierarchically self-assemble first into soft patchy particles and thereafter into more complex structures, such as the diamond and cubic crystal. The self-aggregating single star patchy behavior is preserved from extremely low up to high densities. Its main control parameters are related to the architecture of the building blocks, which are the number of arms (functionality) and the fraction of attractive end-monomers. By employing a variety of computational and theoretical tools, ranging from the microscopic to the mesoscopic, coarse-grained level in a systematic fashion, we investigate the crossover between the formation of microstructure versus macroscopic phase separation, as well as the formation of gels and networks in these systems. We finally show that telechelic star polymers can be used as building blocks for the fabrication of open crystal structures, such as the diamond or the simple-cubic lattice, taking advantage of the strong correlation between single-particle patchiness and lattice coordination at finite densities. (paper)

  1. Sol-gel synthesis of magnesium oxide-silicon dioxide glass compositions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bansal, Narottam P.

    1988-01-01

    MgO-SiO2 glasses containing up to 15 mol pct MgO, which could not have been prepared by the conventional glass melting method due to the presence of stable liquid-liquid immiscibility, were synthesized by the sol-gel technique. Clear and transparent gels were obtained from the hydrolysis and polycondensation of silicon tetraethoxide (TEOS) and magnesium nitrate hexahydrate when the water/TEOS mole ratio was four or more. The gelling time decreased with increase in magnesium content, water/TEOS ratio, and reaction temperature. Magnesium nitrate hexahydrate crystallized out of the gels containing 15 and 20 mol pct MgO on slow drying. This problem was partially alleviated by drying the gels quickly at higher temperatures. Monolithic gel samples were prepared using glycerol as the drying control additive. The gels were subjected to various thermal treatments and characterized by several methods. No organic groups could be detected in the glasses after heat treatments to approx. 800 C, but trace amounts of hydroxyl groups were still present. No crystalline phase was found from X-ray diffraction in the gel samples to approx. 890 C. At higher temperatures, alpha quartz precipitated out as the crystalline phase in gels containing up to 10 mol pct MgO. The overall activation energy for gel formation in 10MgO-90SiO2 (mol pct) system for water/TEOS mole ratio of 7.5 was calculated to be 58.7 kJ/mol.

  2. Synergy in lipofection by cationic lipid mixtures: superior activity at the gel-liquid crystalline phase transition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koynova, Rumiana; Wang, Li; MacDonald, Robert C

    2007-07-12

    Some mixtures of two cationic lipids including phospholipid compounds (O-ethylphosphatidylcholines) as well as common, commercially available cationic lipids, such as dimethylammonium bromides and trimethylammonium propanes, deliver therapeutic DNA considerably more efficiently than do the separate molecules. In an effort to rationalize this widespread "mixture synergism", we examined the phase behavior of the cationic lipid mixtures and constructed their binary phase diagrams. Among a group of more than 50 formulations, the compositions with maximum delivery activity resided unambiguously in the solid-liquid crystalline two-phase region at physiological temperature. Thus, the transfection efficacy of formulations exhibiting solid-liquid crystalline phase coexistence is more than 5 times higher than that of formulations in the gel (solid) phase and over twice that of liquid crystalline formulations; phase coexistence occurring at physiological temperature thus appears to contribute significantly to mixture synergism. This relationship between delivery activity and physical property can be rationalized on the basis of the known consequences of lipid-phase transitions, namely, the accumulation of defects and increased disorder at solid-liquid crystalline phase boundaries. Packing defects at the borders of coexisting solid and liquid crystalline domains, as well as large local density fluctuations, could be responsible for the enhanced fusogenicity of mixtures. This study leads to the important conclusion that manipulating the composition of the lipid carriers so that their phase transition takes place at physiological temperature can enhance their delivery efficacy.

  3. X-ray diffraction analysis of cubic zincblende III-nitrides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Frentrup, Martin; Lee, Lok Yi; Sahonta, Suman-Lata; Kappers, Menno J; Massabuau, Fabien; Gupta, Priti; Oliver, Rachel A; Humphreys, Colin J; Wallis, David J

    2017-01-01

    Solving the green gap problem is a key challenge for the development of future LED-based light systems. A promising approach to achieve higher LED efficiencies in the green spectral region is the growth of III-nitrides in the cubic zincblende phase. However, the metastability of zincblende GaN along with the crystal growth process often lead to a phase mixture with the wurtzite phase, high mosaicity, high densities of extended defects and point defects, and strain, which can all impair the performance of light emitting devices. X-ray diffraction (XRD) is the main characterization technique to analyze these device-relevant structural properties, as it is very cheap in comparison to other techniques and enables fast feedback times. In this review, we will describe and apply various XRD techniques to identify the phase purity in predominantly zincblende GaN thin films, to analyze their mosaicity, strain state, and wafer curvature. The different techniques will be illustrated on samples grown by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy on pieces of 4″ SiC/Si wafers. We will discuss possible issues, which may arise during experimentation, and provide a critical view on the common theories. (topical review)

  4. Lanthanum-doped mesostructured strontium titanates synthesized via sol–gel combustion route using citric acid as complexing agent

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sukpanish, Polthep [Department of Chemical Technology, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Patumwan, Bangkok 10330 (Thailand); Center of Excellence on Petrochemical and Materials Technology (PETROMAT), Chulalongkorn University, Patumwan, Bangkok 10330 (Thailand); Lertpanyapornchai, Boontawee [Program in Petrochemistry, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Patumwan, Bangkok 10330 (Thailand); Yokoi, Toshiyuki [Division of Catalytic Chemistry, Chemical Resources Laboratory, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259 Nagatsuta, Midori-ku, Yokohama 226-8503 (Japan); Ngamcharussrivichai, Chawalit, E-mail: Chawalit.Ng@chula.ac.th [Department of Chemical Technology, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Patumwan, Bangkok 10330 (Thailand); Center of Excellence on Petrochemical and Materials Technology (PETROMAT), Chulalongkorn University, Patumwan, Bangkok 10330 (Thailand)

    2016-09-15

    In the present work, a series of lanthanum-doped mesostructured strontium titanate (LMST) materials with different La/Sr ratios were synthesized via a sol–gel combustion method in the presence of citric acid as a complexing agent and Pluronic P123 as a templating agent. The effects of the amount of doped La and calcination temperature on the physicochemical properties of the LMSTs were examined using various techniques. Powder X-ray diffraction confirmed the substitution of La{sup 3+} into the SrTiO{sub 3} lattice, generating cubic perovskite La{sub x}Sr{sub 1−x}TiO{sub 3}, for the LMST materials calcined at 600 °C. The purity and crystallinity of the desired perovskite phase were enhanced by citric acid addition. The solubility limit of La{sup 3+} substitution at an La/Sr ratio of 0.43 was determined by structural and morphological studies. Increasing the La doping amount decreased the crystallinity and compositional homogeneity, because an La-rich amorphous phase segregated on the surface, but improved the mesoporosity. N{sub 2} physisorption measurements indicated that the LMSTs had a bimodal pore size distribution, of which the larger one was characterized by the crystallite size of mixed oxides, and the specific surface area of 24.9–37.3 m{sup 2} g{sup −1}. The formation of mesopores in the LMST materials synthesized via sol–gel combustion was explained based on a combination of soft- and hard-templating chemistries. - Highlights: • La-doped mesoporous SrTiO{sub 3} (LMST) was prepared first time via sol-gel combustion. • Pluronic P123 triblock copolymer was used as a cheap templating agent. • Citric acid as a complexing agent enhanced the purity and crystallinity of SrTiO{sub 3}. • The textural properties of LMST were improved by increasing the La doping amount. • Mesopore formation was explained by a combined soft- and hard-templating route.

  5. A Note on Cubic Convolution Interpolation

    OpenAIRE

    Meijering, E.; Unser, M.

    2003-01-01

    We establish a link between classical osculatory interpolation and modern convolution-based interpolation and use it to show that two well-known cubic convolution schemes are formally equivalent to two osculatory interpolation schemes proposed in the actuarial literature about a century ago. We also discuss computational differences and give examples of other cubic interpolation schemes not previously studied in signal and image processing.

  6. Microfluidics of soft granular gels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nixon, Ryan; Bhattacharjee, Tapomoy; Sawyer, W. Gregory; Angelini, Thomas E.

    Microfluidic methods for encapsulating cells and particles typically involve drop making with two immiscible fluids. The main materials constraint in this approach is surface tension, creating inherent instability between the two fluids. We can eliminate this instability by using miscible inner and outer phases. This is achieved by using granular micro gels which are chemically miscible but physically do not mix. These microgels are yield stress materials, so they flow as solid plugs far from shear gradients, and fluidize where gradients are generated - near an injection nozzle for example. We have found that tuning the yield stress of the material by varying polymer concentration, device performance can be controlled. The solid like behavior of the gel allows us to produces infinitely stable jets that maintain their integrity and configuration over long distances and times. These properties can be combined and manipulated to produce discrete particulate bunches of an inner phase, flowing inside of an outer phase, well enough even to print a Morse code message suspended within flow chambers about a millimeter in diameter moving at millimeters a second.

  7. Density fluctuation in a screened Coulombic colloid dispersion: comparison of the liquid and cubic phases of lipid A-diphosphate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brown, Helen; Ross, D. Keith; Paradies, Henrich H.

    2004-01-01

    Light-, small-angle X-ray and neutron scattering measurements of the dynamic structure factor S(Q,t) of strong interacting dispersions of lipid A-diphosphate were recorded and analysed applying existing models of liquid state theory. Lipid A-diphosphate ordering was observed at low volume fractions (phi=2.2x10 -4 ) and at very low ionic strength (I=10 -5 M). Upon increasing the particle number density of lipid A-diphosphate a transformation of the lattices of the colloidal crystals from a BCC lattice (a=36.20 nm) to a FCC lattice (a=57.30 nm) occurred. This strongly suggests a similarity in the preformed liquid structure and the cubic colloidal phase. The fit of both S eff (Q) and the principle peak I p (Q) with the effective particle charge supports of the main conclusions drawn from the SANS experiments and the liquid state theory indicating the presence of long-range order for the dispersions of lipid A-diphosphate

  8. Physical properties of aqueous mixtures of the ionic 1-ethl-3-methyl imidazolium octyl sulfate: A new ionic rigid gel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cabeza, O.; Vila, J.; Rilo, E.; Domínguez-Pérez, M.; Otero-Cernadas, L.; López-Lago, E.; Méndez-Morales, T.; Varela, L.M.

    2014-01-01

    Graphical abstract: Phase diagram indicating three transitions temperatures: (liquid + gel) (dot symbols), (liquid + crystal) (square symbols) and (crystal + liquid) (triangle symbols) for the aqueous EMIM-OS mixtures. - Highlights: • We present the phase diagram of the system EMIM-octyl sulfate + water. • We show that a rigid gel phase appears for certain concentrations and temperatures. • That gel presents a smectic-like phase, being really a rigid gel crystal. • The gel is as electrical conductive as the liquid in spite of the viscosity change. • Density does not change at the (liquid + gel) transition. - Abstract: We report the existence of hydrophobically driven lyotropic rigid gel phase in aqueous mixtures of the ionic liquid (IL) 1-ethyl-3-methyl imidazolium octyl sulfate (EMIM-OS), and we characterize the physical properties of the gel phase by means of density, electrical conductivity and viscosity measurements. Also we include polarized microscopy images, showing the existence of a crystalline-like gel phase with the cations and anions (mainly the alkyl chain of this last ones) ordered in a fashion similar to a liquid crystal, which is induced by the presence of the water molecules. As was pointed out briefly in a previous paper, some of the mixtures of that system under goes a (liquid + gel) phase transition only in a quite narrow concentration interval: for ionic liquid molar fraction, x IL , from 0.09 to 0.5. Below x IL = 0.09 and above x IL = 0.5, the mixtures crystallize at low temperature becoming a hard solid crystal. Here we report the complete phase diagram of this binary system, as well as measurements of the temperature behavior of several physical properties around the (liquid + gel) and (liquid + crystal) transitions. Curiously enough, we did not detect any change in the temperature dependence of the measured magnitudes at the (liquid + gel) phase transition, but for viscosity, even in the case of the electrical conductivity

  9. Aging and nonlinear rheology of thermoreversible colloidal gels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wagner, Norman; Gordon, Melissa; Kloxin, Christopher

    Colloidal dispersions are found in a wide variety of consumer products such as paint, food and pharmaceuticals. We investigate gel formation and aging in a thermoreverible gel consisting of octadecyl-coated silica nanoparticles suspended in n-tetradecane. In this system, the octadecyl brush can undergo a phase change allowing the attractions between particles to be tuned by temperature (1,2). By probing the system with steady shear and large amplitude oscillatory shear, we have studied the effect of thermal history and shear history on gel formation and gel mechanical properties during aging. Gels were formed by approaching a common temperature from above and below to determine a reference state from which creep tests were conducted. Creep ringing was observed as expected for the viscoelastic gel. The rheological aging is interpreted in terms of the gel microstructure formed with differing thermal and shear histories to determine how processing affects structure. Recently proposed scaling laws for the rheology and structure under flow are explored within the context of gel aging (3). Through rheological and microstructural measurements, we will further the understanding of gel formation and aging in this model system which may be applied to processing conditions in an industrial setting.

  10. Solid-phase microextraction Ni-Ti fibers coated with functionalised silica particles immobilized in a sol-gel matrix.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Azenha, Manuel; Ornelas, Mariana; Fernando Silva, A

    2009-03-20

    One of the possible approaches for the development of novel solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fibers is the physical deposition of porous materials onto a support using high-temperature epoxy glue. However, a major drawback arises from decomposition of epoxy glue at temperatures below 300 degrees C and instability in some organic solvents. This limitation motivated us to explore the possibility of replacing the epoxy glue with a sol-gel film, thermally more stable and resistant to organic solvents. We found that functionalised silica particles could be successfully attached to a robust Ni-Ti wire by using a UV-curable sol-gel film. The particles were found to be more important than the sol-gel layer during the microextraction process, as shown by competitive extraction trials and by the different extraction profiles observed with differently functionalised particles. If a quality control microscopic-check aiming at the rejection of fibers exhibiting unacceptably low particle load was conducted, acceptable (6-14%) reproducibility of preparation of C(18)-silica fibers was observed, and a strong indication of the durability of the fibers was also obtained. A cyclohexyldiol-silica fiber was used, as a simple example of applicability, for the successful determination of benzaldehyde, acetophenone and dimethylphenol at trace level in spiked tap water. Recoveries: 95-109%; limits of detection: 2-7 microg/L; no competition effects within the studied range (

  11. Pressure-induced phase transitions in nanocrystalline ReO3

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Biswas, Kanishka; Muthu, D V S; Sood, A K; Kruger, M B; Chen, B; Rao, C N R

    2007-01-01

    Pressure-induced phase transitions in the nanocrystals of ReO 3 with an average diameter of ∼12 nm have been investigated in detail by using synchrotron x-ray diffraction and the results compared with the literature data of bulk samples of ReO 3 . The study shows that the ambient-pressure cubic I phase (space group Pm3-barm) transforms to a monoclinic phase (space group C 2/c), then to a rhombohedral I phase (space group R3-barc), and finally to another rhombohedral phase (rhombohedral II, space group R3-barc) with increasing pressure over the 0.0-20.3 GPa range. The cubic I to monoclinic transition is associated with the largest volume change (∼5%), indicative of a reconstructive transition. The transition pressures are generally lower than those known for bulk ReO 3 . The cubic II (Im3-bar) or tetragonal (P4/mbm) phases do not occur at lower pressures. The nanocrystals are found to be more compressible than bulk ReO 3 . On decompression to ambient pressure, the structure does not revert back to the cubic I structure

  12. Phase-Pure of BiFeO3 Ceramic Based on Citric Acid - Assisted Gel by Sintering Time Variation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suastiyanti, Dwita; Ismojo

    2017-07-01

    Bismuth ferrite powder (BiFeO3/BFO) with high purity was synthesized by sol-gel process. It was used Bi5O(OH)9(NO3)4 and Fe(NO3)3.9H2O as main compound sources. Citric acid (C6H8O7) was used as fuell. As multiferroic material, BFO promises important technological applications in several devices like data strorage, spinotronics, sensor, actuator devices etc. This research would know the optimum process condition of sol-gel process to produce BFO powder by varying of sintering time. The novelty of this research is how to produce BFO in single phase by simple method. It was used calcination condition at 160°C for 4 hours and sintering condition at 600°C with varying of sintering time of 4, 6 and 8 hours. Thermogravimetric Analysis/Differential Thermal Analysis (TGA/DTA), X Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) were used to characterize the powder. Loss of mass and heat flow were seen at TGA/DTA test at 160°C approximately (used as reference of calcination temperature). BFO powder sintered at for 8 hours has no secondary phase, meanwhile for another sintering time (4 and 6 hours) it has Bi2O3 as secondary phase. It is also show at SEM observation result that powder with sintering time of 8 hours has finer grain than of 4 and 6 hours sintering at the same temperature. The grains of BFO powder has heterogenous in size, shape and still agglomerated.

  13. Spatial 't Hooft loop to cubic order in hot QCD

    CERN Document Server

    Giovannangeli, P.

    2002-01-01

    Spatial 't Hooft loops of strength k measure the qualitative change in the behaviour of electric colour flux in confined and deconfined phase of SU (N) gauge theory. They show an area law in the deconfined phase, known analytica lly to two loop order with a ``k-scaling'' law k(N-k). In this paper we comput e the O(g^3) correction to the tension. It is due to neutral gluon fields that get their mass through interaction with the wall. The simple k-scaling is lost in cubic order. The generic problem of non-convexity shows up in this order an d the cure is provided. The result for large N is explicitely given. We show tha t nonperturbative effects appear at O(g^5).

  14. On q-power cycles in cubic graphs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bensmail, Julien

    2017-01-01

    In the context of a conjecture of Erdos and Gyárfás, we consider, for any q ≥ 2, the existence of q-power cycles (i.e. with length a power of q) in cubic graphs. We exhibit constructions showing that, for every q ≥ 3, there exist arbitrarily large cubic graphs with no q-power cycles. Concerning...... the remaining case q = 2 (which corresponds to the conjecture of Erdos and Gyárfás), we show that there exist arbitrarily large cubic graphs whose only 2-power cycles have length 4 only, or 8 only....

  15. Phase and vacancy behaviour of hard "slanted" cubes

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Damme, R.; van der Meer, B.; van den Broeke, J. J.; Smallenburg, F.; Filion, L.

    2017-09-01

    We use computer simulations to study the phase behaviour for hard, right rhombic prisms as a function of the angle of their rhombic face (the "slant" angle). More specifically, using a combination of event-driven molecular dynamics simulations, Monte Carlo simulations, and free-energy calculations, we determine and characterize the equilibrium phases formed by these particles for various slant angles and densities. Surprisingly, we find that the equilibrium crystal structure for a large range of slant angles and densities is the simple cubic crystal—despite the fact that the particles do not have cubic symmetry. Moreover, we find that the equilibrium vacancy concentration in this simple cubic phase is extremely high and depends only on the packing fraction and not the particle shape. At higher densities, a rhombic crystal appears as the equilibrium phase. We summarize the phase behaviour of this system by drawing a phase diagram in the slant angle-packing fraction plane.

  16. Optical sensing of HCl with phenol red doped sol-gels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Enju; Chow, Kwok-Fan; Wang Wenqun; Wong, Crystal; Yee, Cynthia; Persad, Alvin; Mann, Jonathan; Bocarsly, Andrew

    2005-01-01

    A dye doped sol-gel for the sensing of hydrochloric acid in solution and/or gaseous phase is described. The sol-gel is obtained by acidic hydrolysis of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and phenyltriethoxysilane (Ph-TriEOS) in the presence of phenol red (PR) and further spin-coating onto glass slides. The sensitive response is based on an increase of the absorption band at 510 nm of phenol red entrapped in the sol-gel casting when exposed to HCl solution or gas, due to protonation of the dye. The detection limit of the sol-gel response to moisturized gaseous HCl is below 12 ppm, and its response to HCl in solution falls in the range of 0.01-6 M. The sol-gel coating has a response time of less than 40 s in steady-state, and life-time of more than a year. Weak acids such as acetic acid, benzoic acid, salicylate acid, citrate acid, and carbonic acid do not interfere the response. The responses in acid solutions are completely reversible. In the gaseous phase, response of HCl appears to be moisture sensitive

  17. Optical sensing of HCl with phenol red doped sol-gels

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang Enju [Department of Chemistry, St. John' s University, 8000 Utopia Parkway, Jamaica, NY 11439 (United States)]. E-mail: wange@stjohns.edu; Chow, Kwok-Fan [Department of Chemistry, St. John' s University, 8000 Utopia Parkway, Jamaica, NY 11439 (United States); Wang Wenqun [Department of Chemistry, St. John' s University, 8000 Utopia Parkway, Jamaica, NY 11439 (United States); Wong, Crystal [Department of Chemistry, St. John' s University, 8000 Utopia Parkway, Jamaica, NY 11439 (United States); Yee, Cynthia [Department of Chemistry, St. John' s University, 8000 Utopia Parkway, Jamaica, NY 11439 (United States); Persad, Alvin [Department of Chemistry, St. John' s University, 8000 Utopia Parkway, Jamaica, NY 11439 (United States); Mann, Jonathan [Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540 (United States); Bocarsly, Andrew [Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540 (United States)

    2005-04-08

    A dye doped sol-gel for the sensing of hydrochloric acid in solution and/or gaseous phase is described. The sol-gel is obtained by acidic hydrolysis of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and phenyltriethoxysilane (Ph-TriEOS) in the presence of phenol red (PR) and further spin-coating onto glass slides. The sensitive response is based on an increase of the absorption band at 510 nm of phenol red entrapped in the sol-gel casting when exposed to HCl solution or gas, due to protonation of the dye. The detection limit of the sol-gel response to moisturized gaseous HCl is below 12 ppm, and its response to HCl in solution falls in the range of 0.01-6 M. The sol-gel coating has a response time of less than 40 s in steady-state, and life-time of more than a year. Weak acids such as acetic acid, benzoic acid, salicylate acid, citrate acid, and carbonic acid do not interfere the response. The responses in acid solutions are completely reversible. In the gaseous phase, response of HCl appears to be moisture sensitive.

  18. Martensitic cubic → tetragonal transition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schumann, H.

    1983-01-01

    Indium-thallium alloys containing 14 to 30% At. Tl have a cubic face-centred beta phase wich changes into a tetragonal face-centred alpha martensite during solidification. The martensite contains twin crystals that are large enough to be seen by means of a light microscope. The phenomenological crystallographic martensite theory was used to calculate Miller's index of the habit plane, the formation of the surface relief, the orientation relations and the critical thickness ratio of the twins. In a beta monocrystal frequently only one of the 24 crystallographic possible habit planes are formed at one end of the sample and migrate through the whole crystal when the temperature drops. Externally applied tension and compression influence in different ways the direction in which the habit plane moves and can even destroy the twinned structure, i.e. they can modify the substructure of the martensite crystal. This induces superelasticity, an effect that has also been described quantitatively. (author)

  19. Dielectric and piezoelectric properties of sol-gel derived Ca doped PbTiO3

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chauhan, Arun Kumar Singh; Gupta, Vinay; Sreenivas, K.

    2006-01-01

    Synthesis of Ca doped PbTiO 3 powder by a chemically derived sol-gel process is described. Crystallization characteristics of different compositions Pb 1-x Ca x TiO 3 (PCT) with varying calcium (Ca) content in the range x = 0-0.45 has been investigated by DTA/TGA, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The crystallization temperature is found to decrease with increasing calcium content. X-ray diffraction reveals a tetragonal structure for PCT compositions with x ≤ 0.35, and a cubic structure for x = 0.45. Dielectric properties on sintered ceramics prepared with fine sol-gel derived powders have been measured. The dielectric constant is found to increase with increasing Ca content, and the dielectric loss decreases continuously. Sol-gel derived Pb 1-x Ca x TiO 3 ceramics with x = 0.45 after poling exhibit infinite electromechanical anisotropy (k t /k p ) with a high d 33 = 80 pC/N, ε' = 298 and low dielectric loss (tan δ = 0.0041)

  20. Crystallization of Na2O-SiO2 gel and glass

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neilson, G. F.; Weinberg, M. C.

    1984-01-01

    The crystallization behavior of a 19 wt pct soda silica gel and gel-derived glass was compared to that of the ordinary glass of the same composition. Both bulk and ground glass samples were utilized. X-ray diffraction measurements were made to identify the crystalline phases and gauge the extent of crystallization. It was found that the gel crystallized in a distinctive manner, while the gel glass behavior was not qualitatively different from that of the ordinary glass.

  1. Implementation of perturbed-chain statistical associating fluid theory (PC-SAFT), generalized (G)SAFT+cubic, and cubic-plus-association (CPA) for modeling thermophysical properties of selected 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium ionic liquids in a wide pressure range.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Polishuk, Ilya

    2013-03-14

    This study is the first comparative investigation of predicting the isochoric and the isobaric heat capacities, the isothermal and the isentropic compressibilities, the isobaric thermal expansibilities, the thermal pressure coefficients, and the sound velocities of ionic liquids by statistical associating fluid theory (SAFT) equation of state (EoS) models and cubic-plus-association (CPA). It is demonstrated that, taking into account the high uncertainty of the literature data (excluding sound velocities), the generalized for heavy compounds version of SAFT+Cubic (GSAFT+Cubic) appears as a robust estimator of the auxiliary thermodynamic properties under consideration. In the case of the ionic liquids the performance of PC-SAFT seems to be less accurate in comparison to ordinary compounds. In particular, PC-SAFT substantially overestimates heat capacities and underestimates the temperature and pressure dependencies of sound velocities and compressibilities. An undesired phenomenon of predicting high fictitious critical temperatures of ionic liquids by PC-SAFT should be noticed as well. CPA is the less accurate estimator of the liquid phase properties, but it is advantageous in modeling vapor pressures and vaporization enthalpies of ionic liquids. At the same time, the preliminary results indicate that the inaccuracies in predicting the deep vacuum vapor pressures of ionic liquids do not influence modeling of phase equilibria in their mixtures at much higher pressures.

  2. Critical temperature of noninteracting bosonic gases in cubic optical lattices at arbitrary integer fillings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rakhimov, Abdulla; Askerzade, Iman N

    2014-09-01

    We have shown that the critical temperature of a Bose-Einstein condensate to a normal phase transition of noninteracting bosons in cubic optical lattices has a linear dependence on the filling factor, especially at large densities. The condensed fraction exhibits a linear power law dependence on temperature in contrast to the case of ideal homogeneous Bose gases.

  3. Pharmacokinetics of 2 dapivirine vaginal microbicide gels and their safety vs. Hydroxyethyl cellulose-based universal placebo gel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nel, Annalene M; Smythe, Shanique C; Habibi, Sepideh; Kaptur, Paulina E; Romano, Joseph W

    2010-10-01

    Dapivirine, a nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor, is in development as a microbicide for the protection of women against HIV infection. A randomized, double-blind, phase 1 trial was conducted in 36 healthy HIV-negative women to compare the pharmacokinetics of 2 dapivirine vaginal gel formulations (0.05% each) and their safety with the hydroxyethyl cellulose-based universal placebo gel. Gel was self-administered once daily for a total of 11 days. Blood and vaginal fluid samples were collected sequentially over 24 days for pharmacokinetic analysis. Safety was evaluated by pelvic examination, colposcopy, adverse events, and clinical laboratory assessments. Adverse event profiles were similar for the 3 gels. Most events were mild and not related to study gel. Headache and vaginal hemorrhage (any vaginal bleeding) were most common. Plasma concentrations of dapivirine did not exceed 1.1 ng/mL. Steady-state conditions were reached within approximately 10 days. Dapivirine concentrations in vaginal fluids were slightly higher for Gel 4789, but Cmax values on days 1 and 14 were not significantly different. Terminal half-life was 72-73 hours in plasma and 15-17 hours in vaginal fluids. Both formulations of dapivirine gel were safe and well tolerated. Dapivirine was delivered to the lower genital tract at concentrations at least 5 logs greater than in vitro inhibitory concentrations.

  4. Effect of temperature on internal structure of uranyl gels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Landspersky, H.; Urbanek, V.

    1983-01-01

    Tempering freshly prepared uranyl gel serves the homogenization of the volume of the individual spheres and the whole volume of the processed material. Tempering is carried out at a temperature of 90 degC in a special countercurrent through-flow column. The tempered gel particles were analyzed for specific surface and porosity using different methods, subjected to phase analysis, and the crystallite mean size was determined. It was found that the quality of the final gel depends on the residence time in the tempering column. Gel recrystallization probably takes place during tempering leading to stress and cracks which in the final stage lead to the disintegration of the xerogel. Maximum permissible gel residence time in the tempering column is 15 mins. (M.D.)

  5. Ab initio study of mechanical and thermo-acoustic properties of tough ceramics: applications to HfO{sub 2} in its cubic and orthorhombic phase

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ponce, C A [Departamento de Fisica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, y Naturales y Agrimensura, UNNE, Campus Universitario, Avenida Libertad 5600, CP 3400, Corrientes (Argentina); Casali, R A [Departamento de Fisica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, y Naturales y Agrimensura, UNNE, Campus Universitario, Avenida Libertad 5600, CP 3400, Corrientes (Argentina); Caravaca, M A [Departamento de Fisico, Quimica, Facultad de Ingenieria, UNNE, Avenida Las Heras 727, CP 3500, Resistencia (Argentina)

    2008-01-30

    By means of the ab initio all-electron new full-potential linear-muffin-tin orbitals method, calculations were made for elastic constants C{sub 11}, C{sub 12} and C{sub 44} for Si, ZrO{sub 2} and HfO{sub 2} in their cubic phase, and constants C{sub 11}, C{sub 22}, C{sub 33}, C{sub 12}, C{sub 13}, C{sub 23}, C{sub 44}, C{sub 55} and C{sub 66} for HfO{sub 2} in its orthorhombic phase. Using the Voigt and Reuss theory, estimations were made for polycrystals of their bulk, shear and Young moduli, and Poisson coefficients. The speed of elastic wave propagations and Debye temperatures were estimated for polycrystals built from Si and the above mentioned compounds. The semicore 4f{sup 14} electrons should be included in the valence set of Hf atom in this all-electron approach if accurate results for elastic properties under pressures are looked for.

  6. Aptamer entrapment in microfluidic channel using one-step sol-gel process, in view of the integration of a new selective extraction phase for lab-on-a-chip.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perréard, Camille; d'Orlyé, Fanny; Griveau, Sophie; Liu, Baohong; Bedioui, Fethi; Varenne, Anne

    2017-10-01

    There is a great demand for integrating sample treatment into μTASs. In this context, we developed a new sol-gel phase for extraction of trace compounds in complex matrices. For this purpose, the incorporation of aptamers in silica-based gel within PDMS/glass microfluidic channels was performed for the first time by a one-step sol-gel process. The effective gel attachment onto microchannel walls and aptamer incorporation in the polymerized gel were evaluated using fluorescence microscopy. A good gel stability and aptamer incorporation inside the microchannel was demonstrated upon rinsing and over storage time. The ability of gel-encapsulated aptamers to interact with its specific target (either sulforhodamine B as model fluorescent target, or diclofenac, a pain killer drug) was assessed too. The binding capacity of entrapped aptamers was quantified (in the micromolar range) and the selectivity of the interaction was evidenced. Preservation of aptamers binding affinity to target molecules was therefore demonstrated. Dissociation constant of the aptamer-target complex and interaction selectivity were evaluated similar to those in bulk solution. This opens the way to new selective on-chip SPE techniques for sample pretreatment. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  7. Formation of highly structured cubic micellar lipid nanoparticles of soy phosphatidylcholine and glycerol dioleate and their degradation by triacylglycerol lipase.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wadsäter, Maria; Barauskas, Justas; Nylander, Tommy; Tiberg, Fredrik

    2014-05-28

    Lipid nanoparticles of reversed internal phase structures, such as cubic micellar (I2) structure show good drug loading ability of peptides and proteins as well as some small molecules. Due to their controllable small size and inner morphology, such nanoparticles are suitable for drug delivery using several different administration routes, including intravenous, intramuscular, and subcutaneous injection. A very interesting system in this regard, is the two component soy phosphatidylcholine (SPC)/glycerol dioleate (GDO) system, which depending on the ratio of the lipid components form a range of reversed liquid crystalline phases. For a 50/50 (w/w) ratio in excess water, these lipids have been shown to form a reversed cubic micellar (I2) phase of the Fd3m structure. Here, we demonstrate that this SPC/GDO phase, in the presence of small quantities (5-10 wt %) of Polysorbate 80 (P80), can be dispersed into nanoparticles, still with well-defined Fd3m structure. The resulting nanoparticle dispersion has a narrow size distribution and exhibit good long-term stability. In pharmaceutical applications, biodegradation pathways of the drug delivery vehicles and their components are important considerations. In the second part of the study we show how the structure of the particles evolves during exposure to a triacylglycerol lipase (TGL) under physiological-like temperature and pH. TGL catalyzes the lipolytic degradation of acylglycerides, such as GDO, to monoglycerides, glycerol, and free fatty acids. During the degradation, the interior phase of the particles is shown to undergo continuous phase transitions from the reversed I2 structure to structures of less negative curvature (2D hexagonal, bicontinuous cubic, and sponge), ultimately resulting in the formation of multilamellar vesicles.

  8. Impact of Ni substitution on structural, electrical and thermoelectric properties of zinc aluminium chromites synthesized by sol-gel route and their photocatalytic investigation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Patil, Seema Pandurang; Helavi, Vasant Baburao [Department of chemistry, Rajaram college, Maharashtra (India); Sanadi, Kallappa Ramchandra, E-mail: sanadikishor@gmail.com [Department of chemistry, Doodhsakhar Mahavidyalaya, Maharashtra (India)

    2017-11-15

    Nanostructured nickel substituted zinc aluminium chromites (Zn{sub 1-x}Ni{sub x} AlCrO{sub 4}, where, x= 0.0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1.0) were prepared by simple, cost effective, sol-gel auto combustion method. Temperature of phase formation was analyzed by thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TGA/DTA). Crystallographic studies of all the samples show formation of single cubic spinel phase only. The lattice parameter, crystallite size and X-ray density decreases with increase in Nickel content. The surface morphology of Zn1{sub -x}Ni{sub x} AlCrO{sub 4} shows spherical inter linked morphology while elemental studies show desired composition. The nanosize of the synthesized material was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) which was lies in between 19-25 nm. The DC conductivity as well as thermoelectric power studies of the samples reveals their semiconducting nature. The nanocrystalline chromite has optimal charge separation, which make them to enhance their photocatalytic efficiency. 0.100gm palladium loaded nickel aluminium chromite shows excellent mineralization in water. (author)

  9. Process Design of Industrial Triethylene Glycol Processes Using the Cubic-Plus-Association (CPA) Equation of State

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Arya, Alay; Maribo-Mogensen, Bjørn; Tsivintzelis, Ioannis

    2014-01-01

    The Cubic-Plus-Association (CPA) equation of state (EoS) has already been proven to be a successful model for phase equilibrium calculations for systems containing glycols. In the present work, we interface a thermodynamic property package (Thermo System), based on CPA, with Aspen HYSYS through...

  10. A-Part Gel, an adhesion prophylaxis for abdominal surgery: a randomized controlled phase I-II safety study [NCT00646412].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lang, Reinhold; Baumann, Petra; Schmoor, Claudia; Odermatt, Erich K; Wente, Moritz N; Jauch, Karl-Walter

    2015-01-01

    Intra-abdominal surgical intervention can cause the development of intra-peritoneal adhesions. To reduce this problem, different agents have been tested to minimize abdominal adhesions; however, the optimal adhesion prophylaxis has not been found so far. Therefore, the A-Part(®) Gel was developed as a barrier to diminish postsurgical adhesions; the aim of this randomized controlled study was a first evaluation of its safety and efficacy. In this prospective, controlled, randomized, patient-blinded, monocenter phase I-II study, 62 patients received either the hydrogel A-Part-Gel(®) as an anti-adhesive barrier or were untreated after primary elective median laparotomy. Primary endpoint was the occurrence of peritonitis and/or wound healing impairment 28 ± 10 days postoperatively. As secondary endpoints anastomotic leakage until 28 days after surgery, adverse events and adhesions were assessed until 3 months postoperatively. A lower rate of wound healing impairment and/or peritonitis was observed in the A-Part Gel(®) group compared to the control group: (6.5 vs. 13.8 %). The difference between the two groups was -7.3%, 90 % confidence interval [-20.1, 5.4 %]. Both treatment groups showed similar frequency of anastomotic leakage but incidence of adverse events and serious adverse events were slightly lower in the A-Part Gel(®) group compared to the control. Adhesion rates were comparable in both groups. A-Part Gel(®) is safe as an adhesion prophylaxis after abdominal wall surgery but no reduction of postoperative peritoneal adhesion could be found in comparison to the control group. This may at least in part be due to the small sample size as well as to the incomplete coverage of the incision due to the used application. NCT00646412.

  11. [Comparative study on transdermal osmosis in vitro of Aconitum brachypodium liniment, gel and patcher].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Ya-ping; Zhao, Ying; Zhang, Yong-ping; Liang, Guang-yi

    2007-02-01

    To study the transdermal osmosis process of Aconitum brachypodum's liniment, gel and patcher to provide basis for selecting dosage form and controlling the quality. Taking the cumulate rate of transdermal as index, a imitated Fick's diffusion device was used for the investigating the transdermal osmosis course of the three preparations. The best transdermal mathematics models are obtained and the relations between the transdermal course and the release course are analysed. The three preparations have different characteristics of transdermal osmosis course. The liniment meets dynamics 0 order process, the gel and the patcher meet dynamic 0 order process of non-corroded drug system. And the relation is good cubic equation between their transdermal course and release course. The transdermal osmosis experiment in vitro for three preparations can provide basis for selecting dosage form and the quality control in future studies.

  12. Synthesis of potassium sodium niobate nanostructures by hydrothermal combining with the sol-gel method

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Meng, Xianghe; Wang, Wen, E-mail: wangwen@hit.edu.cn; Ke, Hua; Rao, Jiancun; Zhou, Yu

    2016-10-15

    Graphical abstract: We prepared novel metastable perovskite K{sub 0.52}Na{sub 0.48}NbO{sub 3} microstructures with a morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) between rhombohedral and tetragonal via hydrothermal method with SDS surfactant-assist. - Highlights: • KNbO{sub 3}-type orthorhombic K{sub 1−x}Na{sub x}NbO{sub 3} nanowires were prepared by hydrothermal method. • Metastable K{sub 0.52}Na{sub 0.48}NbO{sub 3} microfingers have a morphotropic phase boundary. • Sodium dodecyl sulfate could improve the crystallinity of K{sub 0.52}Na{sub 0.48}NbO{sub 3} powders. • The Curie temperature of rhombohedral-tetragonal KNN was 555 °C. - Abstract: In this paper the K{sub 1−x}Na{sub x}NbO{sub 3}(KNN) nanostructures were synthesized by hydrothermal method using KNN gel powders as precursors. KNbO{sub 3}-type orthorhombic KNN nanowires and perovskite KNN microfingers with a morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) between rhombohedral and tetragonal characterized by X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy were obtained at 190 °C and 220 °C, respectively. KNbO{sub 3}-type orthorhombic KNN nanowires had rectangular shape and the growth direction of these nanowires was [0 0 1]. The rhombohedral-tetragonal KNN microfingers were metastable, and changed the rhombohedral-tetragonal phase into the orthorhombic phase via thermal treatment at 600 °C then cooled down to room temperature. Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as surfactant was added to the hydrothermal reaction. It was found that SDS could improve the crystallinity of the rhombohedral-tetragonal K{sub 0.52}Na{sub 0.48}NbO{sub 3} and reduce the impurity effectively. The tetragonal-cubic phase transition temperature (Tc) of the rhombohedral-tetragonal powders appeared at 555 °C.

  13. Drude weight and optical conductivity of a two-dimensional heavy-hole gas with k-cubic spin-orbit interactions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mawrie, Alestin; Ghosh, Tarun Kanti [Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur, Kanpur 208 016 (India)

    2016-01-28

    We present a detailed theoretical study on zero-frequency Drude weight and optical conductivity of a two-dimensional heavy-hole gas (2DHG) with k-cubic Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit interactions. The presence of k-cubic spin-orbit couplings strongly modifies the Drude weight in comparison to the electron gas with k-linear spin-orbit couplings. For large hole density and strong k-cubic spin-orbit couplings, the density dependence of Drude weight deviates from the linear behavior. We establish a relation between optical conductivity and the Berry connection. Unlike two-dimensional electron gas with k-linear spin-orbit couplings, we explicitly show that the optical conductivity does not vanish even for equal strength of the two spin-orbit couplings. We attribute this fact to the non-zero Berry phase for equal strength of k-cubic spin-orbit couplings. The least photon energy needed to set in the optical transition in hole gas is one order of magnitude smaller than that of electron gas. Types of two van Hove singularities appear in the optical spectrum are also discussed.

  14. Shape Preserving Interpolation Using C2 Rational Cubic Spline

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samsul Ariffin Abdul Karim

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper discusses the construction of new C2 rational cubic spline interpolant with cubic numerator and quadratic denominator. The idea has been extended to shape preserving interpolation for positive data using the constructed rational cubic spline interpolation. The rational cubic spline has three parameters αi, βi, and γi. The sufficient conditions for the positivity are derived on one parameter γi while the other two parameters αi and βi are free parameters that can be used to change the final shape of the resulting interpolating curves. This will enable the user to produce many varieties of the positive interpolating curves. Cubic spline interpolation with C2 continuity is not able to preserve the shape of the positive data. Notably our scheme is easy to use and does not require knots insertion and C2 continuity can be achieved by solving tridiagonal systems of linear equations for the unknown first derivatives di, i=1,…,n-1. Comparisons with existing schemes also have been done in detail. From all presented numerical results the new C2 rational cubic spline gives very smooth interpolating curves compared to some established rational cubic schemes. An error analysis when the function to be interpolated is ft∈C3t0,tn is also investigated in detail.

  15. Guarded Cubical Type Theory

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Birkedal, Lars; Bizjak, Aleš; Clouston, Ranald

    2016-01-01

    This paper improves the treatment of equality in guarded dependent type theory (GDTT), by combining it with cubical type theory (CTT). GDTT is an extensional type theory with guarded recursive types, which are useful for building models of program logics, and for programming and reasoning...... with coinductive types. We wish to implement GDTT with decidable type-checking, while still supporting non-trivial equality proofs that reason about the extensions of guarded recursive constructions. CTT is a variation of Martin-L\\"of type theory in which the identity type is replaced by abstract paths between...... terms. CTT provides a computational interpretation of functional extensionality, is conjectured to have decidable type checking, and has an implemented type-checker. Our new type theory, called guarded cubical type theory, provides a computational interpretation of extensionality for guarded recursive...

  16. Guarded Cubical Type Theory

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Birkedal, Lars; Bizjak, Aleš; Clouston, Ranald

    2016-01-01

    This paper improves the treatment of equality in guarded dependent type theory (GDTT), by combining it with cubical type theory (CTT). GDTT is an extensional type theory with guarded recursive types, which are useful for building models of program logics, and for programming and reasoning...... with coinductive types. We wish to implement GDTT with decidable type checking, while still supporting non-trivial equality proofs that reason about the extensions of guarded recursive constructions. CTT is a variation of Martin-L\\"of type theory in which the identity type is replaced by abstract paths between...... terms. CTT provides a computational interpretation of functional extensionality, enjoys canonicity for the natural numbers type, and is conjectured to support decidable type-checking. Our new type theory, guarded cubical type theory (GCTT), provides a computational interpretation of extensionality...

  17. Laser shock processing on microstructure and hardness of polycrystalline cubic boron nitride tools with and without nanodiamond powders

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Melookaran, Roslyn; Melaibari, Ammar; Deng, Cheng; Molian, Pal

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► Laser shock waves hardened polycrystalline cubic boron nitride tools by up to 15%. ► Laser shock waves can build layer-by-layer of nanodiamond to form micro-diamond tools. ► Multiple laser shocks induce significant phase transitions in cBN and nanodiamond. -- Abstract: High amplitude, short duration shock waves created by a 1064 nm, 10 ns Q-switched Nd:YAG laser were used to increase the hardness as well as build successive layers of nanodiamond on sintered polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PcBN) tools. Multiple scans of laser shocking were applied. Scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, Tukon microhardness tester, and optical surface profilometer were used to evaluate the microstructure, phase change, Vicker’s microhardness and surface roughness. Results indicated that laser shock processing of plain PcBN changed the binder concentration, caused phase transition from cubic to hexagonal form, increased the hardness, and almost unaffected surface roughness. Laser shock wave sintering of nanodiamond powders on PcBN resulted in deagglomeration and layer-by-layer build-up of nanoparticles for a thickness of 30 μm inferring that a novel solid freeform technique designated as “shock wave induced freeform technique (SWIFT)” is being discovered for making micro-tools. Depending on the number of multiple laser shocks, the hardness of nanodiamond compact was lower or higher than that of PcBN. It is hypothesized that nanodiamond particles could serve as crack deflectors, increasing the fracture toughness of PcBN.

  18. Valence electron structure analysis of the cubic silicide intermetallics in rapidly solidified Al-Fe-V-Si alloy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, J.Q.; Qian, C.F.; Zhang, B.J.; Tseng, M.K.; Xiong, S.W.

    1996-01-01

    The application of rapid solidification for the development of elevated temperature aluminum alloys has resulted in the emergence of several alloys based on the Al-Fe alloy system. Of particular interest are Al-Fe-V-Si alloys which have excellent room temperature and high temperature mechanical properties. In a pioneering study, Skinner et al. showed the stabilization of the cubic phase in ternary Al-Fe-Si alloy by the addition of a quaternary element, vanadium. The evolution of the microstructure in these alloys both during rapid solidification and subsequent processing is of crucial importance. Kim has demonstrated that the composition of the silicide phase in rapidly solidified Al-Fe-V-Si alloy is very close to Al 12 (Fe,V) 3 Si with the body centered cubic (bcc) structure. The structure is closely related to that of quasicrystals.In view of the structural features and the relationship between the α 12 and α 13 phases, the researching emphasis should firstly be put on the α 12 phase. In this paper the authors analyzed the α -(AlFeSi)(α 12 -type) phase from the angle of atomic valence electron structure other than the traditional methods of obtaining the diffraction spots of the phase. Several pieces of information were obtained about the hybrid levels and bond natures of every kind of atom in the α -(AlFeSi) phase. Finally the authors explained the phenomenon which V atom can substitute for Fe atom in the α 12 phase and improve the thermal stability of the phase in Al-Fe-V-Si alloy

  19. Investigation of phase stability in the scandia-zirconia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grosso, Robson Lopes

    2016-01-01

    In this work, the phase stability of scandia-zirconia (ScSZ) system was investigated by the thermodynamic study of nanoparticles, within the range of 0 to 20 mol% Sc 2 O 3 , and by codoping of ZrO 2 -10 mol% Sc 2 O 3 (10ScSZ) with Dy 2 O 3 and Nb 2 O 5 . The phase stability of ScSZ was evaluated based on thermodynamic data collected by water adsorption microcalorimetry and high temperature oxide melt solution. Nanostructured zirconia-scandia solid solutions were synthesized by coprecipitation method. Thermodynamic data were determined for ScSZ polymorph (monoclinic, tetragonal, cubic, rhombohedral β and γ) found by X-ray diffraction. This systemic work resulted in an unprecedented phase diagram at the nanoscale of particle size-composition. The effects of additives on 10ScSZ were investigated aiming to stabilize the cubic (c) structure at room temperature and to suppress the characteristic cubic-rhombohedral β phase transformation. Compositions were prepared by coprecipitation and solid state reaction. Materials were sintered by conventional and spark plasma sintering. Full stabilization of the cubic phase was attained by 1 mol% Dy 2 O 3 and 0.5 mol% Nb 2 O 5 additions. The smallest Nb 2 O 5 content required for cubic phase stabilization was attributed to liquid phase formation during sintering and to small ionic radius of Nb 5+ . Results of high temperature X-ray diffraction and thermal analysis show suppression of the c-β transformation. Samples containing 0.5 mol% Nb 2 O 5 show total ionic conductivity similar to 10ScSZ without additives within a broad temperature range with high stability during 170 h at 600 °C. (author)

  20. Dielectric and piezoelectric properties of sol-gel derived Ca doped PbTiO{sub 3}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chauhan, Arun Kumar Singh [Department of Physics and Astrophysics, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007 (India); Gupta, Vinay [Department of Physics and Astrophysics, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007 (India)]. E-mail: drvin_gupta@rediffmail.com; Sreenivas, K. [Department of Physics and Astrophysics, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007 (India)

    2006-06-15

    Synthesis of Ca doped PbTiO{sub 3} powder by a chemically derived sol-gel process is described. Crystallization characteristics of different compositions Pb{sub 1-x}Ca {sub x}TiO{sub 3} (PCT) with varying calcium (Ca) content in the range x = 0-0.45 has been investigated by DTA/TGA, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The crystallization temperature is found to decrease with increasing calcium content. X-ray diffraction reveals a tetragonal structure for PCT compositions with x {<=} 0.35, and a cubic structure for x = 0.45. Dielectric properties on sintered ceramics prepared with fine sol-gel derived powders have been measured. The dielectric constant is found to increase with increasing Ca content, and the dielectric loss decreases continuously. Sol-gel derived Pb{sub 1-x}Ca {sub x}TiO{sub 3} ceramics with x = 0.45 after poling exhibit infinite electromechanical anisotropy (k {sub t}/k {sub p}) with a high d {sub 33} = 80 pC/N, {epsilon}' = 298 and low dielectric loss (tan {delta} = 0.0041)

  1. Non-stationary heat transfer in gels applied to biotehnology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pokusaev Boris

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Unsteady heat transfer in agarose gels of various concentrations was studied in order to make a breakthrough in the technology of 3-D additive bioprinting. Data on the kinetics of the phase transformation was obtained using spectroscopy as a function of temperature during the formation of agarose hydrogel. The dynamics of aging was investigated for gels of different densities. The time dependence of the structural changes was obtained. Particular attention was paid to the changes in the structure of the gel due to the processes of evaporation of the liquid during the gel formation and during long-term storage. Experiments were performed to determine the dynamics of the temperature fields simultaneously with heat flux measurements during the formation of agarose gels from different initial concentrations. A technique based on experimental data for the computations of the thermophysical coefficients of agarose gels was developed.

  2. Extraction of americium (III) by thermosensitive polymer gel copolymerized with acidic phosphorus compound

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takeshita, Kenji; Nakano, Yoshio; Matsumura, Tatsuro

    2001-01-01

    A new gel-liquid extraction using a thermosensitive gel was proposed. The thermosensitive gel shows the conformational change of polymer network with temperature, which is known as the phase transition phenomena of gel. The extraction rate and equilibrium of Am(III) in an aqueous solution containing nitrate ion were measured batchwise by using a thermosensitive gel, N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPA) copolymerized with 2-methacryloyloxy- ethylacidphosphate (MR). The effects of the conformational change of polymer network on the extraction rate and equilibrium were discussed. The distribution ratio of Am(III) showed a large value at higher than LCST (low critical solution temperature; 34degC) and was decreased by the phase transition of gel from shrinking to swelling with decreasing temperature. The extraction of Am(III) in the aqueous solution and the release of Am(III) extracted in the gel were repeated stably by the temperature swing operation between 40 and 3degC. The extraction mechanism of Am(III) was described simply as Am 3+ + 3R - OH=(R-O) 3 Am + 3H + (R-OH: MR). The equilibrium constant at the shrinking state (40degC) was more than 3 times of that at swelling state (3degC). The gel-phase diffusivity of Eu(III) used as a substitute of Am(III) was evaluated as the order of 10 -12 m 2 /s at either of 3 or 40degC, which was similar to those for practical extraction chromatographic resins. The temperature-response of gel for the extraction of Eu(III) was very excellent without delay even for the rapid temperature change at 10degC/min. These results suggest that the extraction and release of Am(III) in an aqueous solution can be controlled by the conformational change of polymer network of thermosensitive gel. (author)

  3. Sol-gel open tubular ODS columns with reversed electroosmotic flow for capillary electrochromatography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayes, J D; Malik, A

    2001-03-01

    Sol-gel chemistry was successfully used for the fabrication of open tubular columns with surface-bonded octadecylsilane (ODS) stationary-phase coating for capillary electrochromatography (OT-CEC). Following column preparations, a series of experiments were performed to investigate the performance of the sol-gel coated ODS columns in OT-CEC. The incorporation of N-octadecyldimethyl[3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl]ammonium chloride as one of the sol-gel precursors played an important role in the electrochromatographic performance of the prepared columns. This chemical reagent possesses a chromatographically favorable, bonded ODS moiety, in conjunction with three methoxy groups allowing for sol-gel reactivity. In addition, a positively charged nitrogen atom is present in the molecular structure of this reagent and provides a positively charged capillary surface responsible for the reversed electroosmotic flow (EOF) in the columns during CEC operation. Comparative studies involving the EOF within such sol-gel ODS coated and uncoated capillaries were performed using acetonitrile and methanol as the organic modifiers in the mobile phase. The use of a deactivating reagent, phenyldimethylsilane, in the sol-gel solution was evaluated. Efficiency values of over 400,000 theoretical plates per meter were achieved in CEC on a 64 cm x 25 microm i.d. sol-gel ODS open tubular column. Test mixtures of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, benzene derivatives, and aromatic aldehydes and ketones were used to evaluate the CEC performances of both nondeactivated and deactivated open tubular sol-gel columns. The effects of mobile-phase organic modifier contents and pH on EOF in such columns were evaluated. The prepared sol-gel ODS columns are characterized by switchable electroosmotic flow. A pH value of approximately 8.5 was found correspond to the isoelectric point for the prepared sol-gel ODS coatings.

  4. Thermal Scanning Conductometry (TSC) as a General Method for Studying and Controlling the Phase Behavior of Conductive Physical Gels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bielejewski, Michal

    2018-01-23

    The thermal scanning conductometry protocol is a new approach in studying ionic gels based on low molecular weight gelators. The method is designed to follow the dynamically changing state of the ionogels, and to deliver more information and details about the subtle change of conductive properties with an increase or decrease in the temperature. Moreover, the method allows the performance of long term (i.e. days, weeks) measurements at a constant temperature to investigate the stability and durability of the system and the aging effects. The main advantage of the TSC method over classical conductometry is the ability to perform measurements during the gelation process, which was impossible with the classical method due to temperature stabilization, which usually takes a long time before the individual measurement. It is a well-known fact that to obtain the physical gel phase, the cooling stage must be fast; moreover, depending on the cooling rate, different microstructures can be achieved. The TSC method can be performed with any cooling/heating rate that can be assured by the external temperature system. In our case, we can achieve linear temperature change rates between 0.1 and approximately 10 °C/min. The thermal scanning conductometry is designed to work in cycles, continuously changing between heating and cooling stages. Such an approach allows study of the reproducibility of the thermally reversible gel-sol phase transition. Moreover, it allows the performance of different experimental protocols on the same sample, which can be refreshed to initial state (if necessary) without removal from the measuring cell. Therefore, the measurements can be performed faster, in a more efficient way, and with much higher reproducibility and accuracy. Additionally, the TSC method can be also used as a tool to manufacture the ionogels with targeted properties, like microstructure, with an instant characterization of conductive properties.

  5. Criticality of the bond-diluted Ising ferromagnet in a semi-infinite simple cubic lattice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Silva, L.R. da; Tsallis, C.; Sarmento, E.F.

    1987-01-01

    We study the phase diagram and universality classes of the quenched bond-diluted spin 1/2 Ising ferromagnetic in a semi-infinite simple cubic lattice with a (0,0,1) free surface. We observe that surface ferromagnetism persists below the d=2 percolation threshold p c 2D = 1/2, in fact down to pc∼0,42. (M.W.O.) [pt

  6. [Separation of purines, pyrimidines, pterins and flavonoids on magnolol-bonded silica gel stationary phase by high performance liquid chromatography].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Hong; Li, Laishen; Zhang, Yang; Zhou, Rendan

    2012-10-01

    A new magnolol-bonded silica gel stationary phase (MSP) was used to separate the basic drugs including four purines, eight pyrimidines, four pterins and five flavonoids as polar representative samples by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). To clarify the separation mechanism, a commercial ODS column was also tested under the same chromatographic conditions. The high selectivities and fast baseline separations of the above drugs were achieved by using simple mobile phases on MSP. Although there is no end-caped treatment, the peak shapes of basic drugs containing nitrogen such as purines, pyrimidines and pterins were rather symmetrical on MSP, which indicated the the magnolol as ligand with multi-sites could shield the side effect of residual silanol groups on the surface of silica gel. Although somewhat different in the separation resolution, it was found that the elution orders of some drugs were generally similar on both MSP and ODS. The hydrophobic interaction should play a significant role in the separations of the above basic drugs, which was attributed to their reversed-phase property in the nature. However, MSP could provide the additional sites for many polar solutes, which was a rational explanation for the high selectivity of MSP. For example, in the separation of purines, pyrimidines and pterins on MSP, hydrogen-bonding and dipole-dipole interactions played leading roles besides hydrophobic interaction. Some solute molecules (such as mercaptopurine, vitexicarpin) and MSP can form the strong pi-pi stacking in the separation process. All enhanced the retention and improved the separation selectivity of MSP, which facilitated the separation of the basic drugs.

  7. Randomized Block Cubic Newton Method

    KAUST Repository

    Doikov, Nikita; Richtarik, Peter

    2018-01-01

    We study the problem of minimizing the sum of three convex functions: a differentiable, twice-differentiable and a non-smooth term in a high dimensional setting. To this effect we propose and analyze a randomized block cubic Newton (RBCN) method, which in each iteration builds a model of the objective function formed as the sum of the natural models of its three components: a linear model with a quadratic regularizer for the differentiable term, a quadratic model with a cubic regularizer for the twice differentiable term, and perfect (proximal) model for the nonsmooth term. Our method in each iteration minimizes the model over a random subset of blocks of the search variable. RBCN is the first algorithm with these properties, generalizing several existing methods, matching the best known bounds in all special cases. We establish ${\\cal O}(1/\\epsilon)$, ${\\cal O}(1/\\sqrt{\\epsilon})$ and ${\\cal O}(\\log (1/\\epsilon))$ rates under different assumptions on the component functions. Lastly, we show numerically that our method outperforms the state-of-the-art on a variety of machine learning problems, including cubically regularized least-squares, logistic regression with constraints, and Poisson regression.

  8. Randomized Block Cubic Newton Method

    KAUST Repository

    Doikov, Nikita

    2018-02-12

    We study the problem of minimizing the sum of three convex functions: a differentiable, twice-differentiable and a non-smooth term in a high dimensional setting. To this effect we propose and analyze a randomized block cubic Newton (RBCN) method, which in each iteration builds a model of the objective function formed as the sum of the natural models of its three components: a linear model with a quadratic regularizer for the differentiable term, a quadratic model with a cubic regularizer for the twice differentiable term, and perfect (proximal) model for the nonsmooth term. Our method in each iteration minimizes the model over a random subset of blocks of the search variable. RBCN is the first algorithm with these properties, generalizing several existing methods, matching the best known bounds in all special cases. We establish ${\\\\cal O}(1/\\\\epsilon)$, ${\\\\cal O}(1/\\\\sqrt{\\\\epsilon})$ and ${\\\\cal O}(\\\\log (1/\\\\epsilon))$ rates under different assumptions on the component functions. Lastly, we show numerically that our method outperforms the state-of-the-art on a variety of machine learning problems, including cubically regularized least-squares, logistic regression with constraints, and Poisson regression.

  9. Synthesis, structural investigation and magnetic properties of Zn2+ substituted cobalt ferrite nanoparticles prepared by the sol–gel auto-combustion technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Raut, A.V.; Barkule, R.S.; Shengule, D.R.; Jadhav, K.M.

    2014-01-01

    Structural morphology and magnetic properties of the Co 1−x Zn x Fe 2 O 4 (0.0≤x≥1.0) spinel ferrite system synthesized by the sol–gel auto-combustion technique using nitrates of respective metal ions have been studied. The ratio of metal nitrates to citric acid was taken at 1:3. The as prepared powder of cobalt zinc ferrite was sintered at 600 °C for 12 h after TG/DTA thermal studies. Compositional stoichiometry was confirmed by energy dispersive analysis of the X-ray (EDAX) technique. Single phase cubic spinel structure of Co–Zn nanoparticles was confirmed by XRD data. The average crystallite size (t), lattice constant (a) and other structural parameters of zinc substituted cobalt ferrite nanoparticles were calculated from XRD followed by SEM and FTIR. It is observed that the sol–gel auto-combustion technique has many advantages for the synthesis of technologically applicable Co–Zn ferrite nanoparticles. The present investigation clearly shows the effect of the synthesis method and possible relation between magnetic properties and microstructure of the prepared samples. Increase in nonmagnetic Zn 2+ content in cobalt ferrite nanoparticles is followed by decrease in n B , M s and other magnetic parameters. Squareness ratio for the Co-ferrite was 1.096 at room temperature. - Highlights: • Co–Zn nanoparticles are prepared by sol–gel auto-combustion method. • Structural properties were characterized by XRD, SEM, and FTIR. • Compositional stoichiometry was confirmed by EDAX analysis. • Magnetic parameters were measured by the pulse field hysteresis loop technique

  10. Curvelet-domain multiple matching method combined with cubic B-spline function

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Tong; Wang, Deli; Tian, Mi; Hu, Bin; Liu, Chengming

    2018-05-01

    Since the large amount of surface-related multiple existed in the marine data would influence the results of data processing and interpretation seriously, many researchers had attempted to develop effective methods to remove them. The most successful surface-related multiple elimination method was proposed based on data-driven theory. However, the elimination effect was unsatisfactory due to the existence of amplitude and phase errors. Although the subsequent curvelet-domain multiple-primary separation method achieved better results, poor computational efficiency prevented its application. In this paper, we adopt the cubic B-spline function to improve the traditional curvelet multiple matching method. First, select a little number of unknowns as the basis points of the matching coefficient; second, apply the cubic B-spline function on these basis points to reconstruct the matching array; third, build constraint solving equation based on the relationships of predicted multiple, matching coefficients, and actual data; finally, use the BFGS algorithm to iterate and realize the fast-solving sparse constraint of multiple matching algorithm. Moreover, the soft-threshold method is used to make the method perform better. With the cubic B-spline function, the differences between predicted multiple and original data diminish, which results in less processing time to obtain optimal solutions and fewer iterative loops in the solving procedure based on the L1 norm constraint. The applications to synthetic and field-derived data both validate the practicability and validity of the method.

  11. Phase control of Mn-based spinel films via pulsed laser deposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Feng, Zhenxing; Chen, Xiao; Fister, Timothy T.; Bedzyk, Michael J.; Fenter, Paul

    2016-01-01

    Phase transformations in battery cathode materials during electrochemical-insertion reactions lead to capacity fading and low cycle life. One solution is to keep the same phase of cathode materials during cation insertion-extraction processes. Here, we demonstrate a novel strategy to control the phase and composition of Mn-based spinel oxides for magnesium-ion battery applications through the growth of thin films on lattice-matched substrates using pulsed laser deposition. Materials at two extreme conditions are considered: fully discharged cathode MgMn_2O_4 and fully charged cathode Mn_2O_4. The tetragonal MgMn_2O_4 (MMO) phase is obtained on MgAl_2O_4 substrates, while the cubic MMO phase is obtained on MgO substrates. Similarly, growth of the empty Mn_2O_4 spinel in the cubic phase is obtained on an MgO substrate. These results demonstrate the ability to control separately the phase of spinel thin films (e.g., tetragonal vs. cubic MMO) at nominally fixed composition, and to maintain a fixed (cubic) phase while varying its composition (MgxMn_2O_4, for x = 0, 1). As a result, this capability provides a novel route to gain insights into the operation of battery electrodes for energy storage applications.

  12. Neutrosophic Cubic MCGDM Method Based on Similarity Measure

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Surapati Pramanik

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The notion of neutrosophic cubic set is originated from the hybridization of the concept of neutrosophic set and interval valued neutrosophic set. We define similarity measure for neutrosophic cubic sets and prove some of its basic properties.

  13. Cubical version of combinatorial differential forms

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kock, Anders

    2010-01-01

    The theory of combinatorial differential forms is usually presented in simplicial terms. We present here a cubical version; it depends on the possibility of forming affine combinations of mutual neighbour points in a manifold, in the context of synthetic differential geometry.......The theory of combinatorial differential forms is usually presented in simplicial terms. We present here a cubical version; it depends on the possibility of forming affine combinations of mutual neighbour points in a manifold, in the context of synthetic differential geometry....

  14. Phase transition and mechanical properties of tungsten nanomaterials from molecular dynamic simulation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chen, L.; Fan, J. L.; Gong, H. R., E-mail: gonghr@csu.edu.cn [Central South University, State Key Laboratory of Powder Metallurgy (China)

    2017-03-15

    Molecular dynamic simulation is used to systematically find out the effects of the size and shape of nanoparticles on phase transition and mechanical properties of W nanomaterials. It is revealed that the body-centered cubic (BCC) to face-centered cubic (FCC) phase transition could only happen in cubic nanoparticles of W, instead of the shapes of sphere, octahedron, and rhombic dodecahedron, and that the critical number to trigger the phase transition is 5374 atoms. Simulation also shows that the FCC nanocrystalline W should be prevented due to its much lower tensile strength than its BCC counterpart and that the octahedral and rhombic dodecahedral nanoparticles of W, rather than the cubic nanoparticles, should be preferred in terms of phase transition and mechanical properties. The derived results are discussed extensively through comparing with available observations in the literature to provide a deep understanding of W nanomaterials.

  15. Gel-like properties of MCM-41 material and its transformation to MCM-50 in a caustic alkaline surround

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saputra, Hens; Othman, Raihan; Sutjipto, A.G.E.; Muhida, R.; Ani, M.H.

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► MCM-41 material transforms gradually into MCM-50 lamellar gel upon controlled exposure to 6 M KOH. ► The formation of MCM-50 ordered gel structure occurs at KOH weight content of 40–70 wt. %. ► MCM gel phase shows pseudoplastic behavior and possesses homogeneous matrix texture. -- Abstract: MCM-41 material, prepared by sol–gel method, reveals gel-like properties in a caustic alkaline environment, i.e., 6 M potassium hydroxide (KOH) electrolyte. The gellation of MCM-41 starts at a KOH weight ratio of 40 wt.%. The structural change of the material is verified with X-Ray diffractograms and supported by observation using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). As the KOH weight ratio increases, the MCM-41 hexagonal arrays structure gradually transforms into MCM-50 lamellar structure before disappearing completely at 80 wt.% KOH. The MCM gel phase is further characterized by rotational viscometry and texture analysis. The gel phase shows shear thinning or pseudoplastic behavior and possesses homogeneous matrix structure.

  16. Structural and magnetic properties of Co substituted Li{sub 0.5}Fe{sub 2.5}O{sub 4}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Patil, R.P., E-mail: raj_rbm_raj@yahoo.co.in [Department of Chemistry, M.H. Shinde Mahavidyalaya, Tisangi 416206, MH (India); Patil, S.B. [Department of Physics, Krantisinh Nana Patil College Walwa, Sangli 416313, MH (India); Jadhav, B.V. [Department of Chemistry, Changu Kana Thakur Arts, Commerce and Science College, New Panvel 400035, MH (India); Delekar, S.D.; Hankare, P.P. [Department of Chemistry, Shivaji University, Kolhapur 416004, MH (India)

    2016-03-01

    Nanocrystalline Li{sub 0.5}Fe{sub 2.5−x}Co{sub x}O{sub 4} (2.5≥x≥0) system was prepared by sol–gel route. Formation of single phase cubic spinel structure for all the compositions was confirmed from their X-ray diffraction studies. These ferrite samples existed as homogenous and uniform grains as observed from Scanning Electron Microscopy technique. The magnetic studies indicated that, the ferrimagnetic behavior decreases with Cobalt substitution. In general, the substitution of cobalt plays an important role in changing the structural and magnetic properties of these ferrites. - Highlights: • Novel Co doped Li{sub 0.5}Fe{sub 2.5}O{sub 4} system. • Sol–gel method synthesized Co–Lithium ferrites. • Single Phase Cubic spinel structure. • Homogenous and uniform grain size of samples. • Ferrimagnetic behavior for all the samples.

  17. A sol-gel based solid phase microextraction fiber for the analysis of aliphatic alcohols in apple juices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farhadi, Khalil; Maleki, Ramin; Tahmasebi, Raheleh

    2010-01-01

    A new fiber based on titania-chitin sol-gel coated on a silver wire for the headspace solid phase microextraction of aliphatic alcohols from apple juice samples was developed. The influences of fiber coating composition and microextraction conditions (extraction temperature, extraction time, and ionic strength of the sample matrix) on the fiber performance were investigated. Also, the influence of temperature and time on desorption of analytes from fiber were studied. Under the optimized conditions, a porous fiber with a high extraction capacity and good thermal stability (up to 250 degrees C) was obtained. The proposed headspace solid-phase microextraction-GC method was successfully used for the analysis of aliphatic alcohols in apple juice and concentrate samples. The recovery values were from 92.8 to 98.6%. The RSD (n=5) for all analytes were below 7.8%.

  18. Phase transformations im smart materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Newnham, R.E.

    1998-01-01

    One of the qualities that distinguishes living systems from inanimate matter is the ability to adapt to changes in the environment. Smart materials have the ability to perform both sensing and actuating functions and are, therefore, capable of imitating this rudimentary aspect of life. Four of the most widely used smart materials are piezoelectric Pb(Zr, Ti)O 3 , electrostrictive Pb(Mg, Nb)O 3 , magnetostrictive (Tb, Dy)Fe 2 and the shape-memory alloy NiTi. All four are ferroic with active domain walls and two phase transformations, which help to tune the properties of these actuator materials. Pb(Zr, Ti)O 3 is a ferroelectric ceramic which is cubic at high temperature and becomes ferroelectric on cooling through the Curie temperature. At room temperature, it is poised on a rhombohedral-tetragonal phase boundary which enhances the piezoelectric coefficients. Terfenol, (Tb, Dy)Fe 2 , is also cubic at high temperature and then becomes magnetic on cooling through its Curie temperature. At room temperature, it too is poised on a rhombohedral-tetragonal transition which enhances its magnetostriction coefficients. Pb(Mg, Nb)O 3 and nitinol (NiTi) are also cubic at high temperatures and on annealing transform to a partially ordered state. On further cooling, Pb(Mg, Nb)O 3 passes through a diffuse phase transformation at room temperature where it exhibits very large dielectric and electrostrictive coefficients. Just below room temperature, it transforms to a ferroelectric rhombohedral phase. The partially ordered shape-memory alloy NiTi undergoes an austenitic (cubic) to martensitic (mono-clinic) phase change just above room temperature. It is easily deformed in the martensitic state but recovers its original shape when reheated to austenite

  19. P-union and P-intersection of neutrosophic cubic sets

    OpenAIRE

    Florentin Smarandache; Chang Su Kim

    2015-01-01

    Conditions for the P-intersection and P-intersection of falsity-external (resp. indeterminacy-external and truth-external) neutrosophic cubic sets to be an falsity-external (resp. indeterminacy-external and truth- external) neutrosophic cubic set are provided. Conditions for the P-union and the P-intersection of two truth-external (resp. indeterminacy-external and falsity-external) neutrosophic cubic sets to be a truth-internal (resp. indeterminacy-internal and falsity-internal) neutrosoph...

  20. PREPARATION AND PROPERTIES OF COMPOUND ARNEBIAE RADIX MICROEMULSION GEL.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Jing; He, Yanping; Gao, Ting; Zhang, Licheng; Zhao, Yuna

    2017-01-01

    Compound Arnebiae radix oil has been clinically applied to treat burns and scalds for a long time. However, it is unstable and inconvenient to use. The aim of this study was to prepare a compound Arnebiae radix microemulsion gel for transdermal delivery system and evaluate its characteristics. Based on the solubility of Shikonin, the active component of Arnebiae radix and the results of phase studies, adequate ratio of each component in microemulsion was determined. The optimized microemulsion gel was prepared using Carbomer 940. The gels were characterized in terms of appearance, preliminary stability test and the content of Shikonin in the compound Arnebiae radix microemulsion gel with HPLC analysis. The optimized conditions for preparing microemulsion were Tween-80, glycerin, isopropyl myristate (IPM) with the ratio of 6:3:2. The optimal microemulsion gel was obtained with Carbomer 940 (1.0%). The prepared compound Arnebiae radix microemulsion gel showed good stability over time. It is more convenience in application than the previous used formulations.

  1. Sol–gel synthesized mesoporous anatase titanium dioxide ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    for dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) applications. R GOVINDARAJ1,∗, M ... DSSC than rutile phase. In this work, we have synthesized hierarchically structured ... Hydrolysis and polycondensation reaction mechanism of sol–gel process. 2.

  2. Preparation and characterization of hydrated salts/silica composite as shape-stabilized phase change material via sol–gel process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, Yuping; Wang, Tao

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • A mixture of hydrated salts were adopted as phase change materials. • Phase segregation of the hydrated salts was inhibited. • Subcooling was slightly mitigated. • Thermal cycling performance was greatly improved after PVP coating. - Abstract: A novel shape-stabilized phase change material composite was prepared by impregnating the mixture of hydrated salts (Na 2 SO 4 ·10H 2 O–Na 2 HPO 4 ·12H 2 O) into porous silica matrix obtained by sol–gel process and further coated with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) to improve the thermal cycling performance. The chemical compatibility, morphology and phase change properties were investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), hot-stage polarizing optical microscope (HS-POM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Confined in the silica matrix, phase segregation of the hydrated salts was inhibited and subcooling was slightly mitigated. No leakage was observed during the solid–liquid phase transition even when the mass ratio of hydrated salts to silica was as high as 70:30. Results showed that the melting enthalpy of the composite can reach 106.2 kJ/kg with the melting temperature at 30.13 °C and there was no significant enthalpy loss after 30 thermal cycles

  3. Intermetallic phases in the iron-rich region of the Zr-Fe phase diagram

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Granovsky, M.S.; Arias, D.

    1996-01-01

    Intermetallic phases in the Fe-rich region of the Zr-Fe system are studied by X-ray diffraction and optical and electron microscopy. The chemical composition of each phase has been quantitatively measured in a electron microprobe. The stable phases found in this region are ZrFe 2 , Zr 6 Fe 23 and (αFe). ZrFe 2 is identified as a cubic Laves type phase (C15) and the ZrFe 2 /ZrFe 2 +Zr 6 Fe 23 boundary composition is 73±1 at.% Fe. Zr 6 Fe 23 is a cubic phase of the Th 6 Mn 23 type and its composition is 80.0±1.5 at.% Fe. The eutectic L↔Zr 6 Fe 23 +τ-Fe transformation temperature and composition are 1325 C and 91±1 at.% Fe, respectively. The solubility of Zr in τ-Fe at 1012 C is 500±50 appm and 1000±100 appm close to the eutectic temperature. (orig.)

  4. Synthesis and characterization of CdO nano particles by the sol-gel method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vadgama, V. S.; Vyas, R. P.; Jogiya, B. V.; Joshi, M. J.

    2017-05-01

    Cadmium Oxide (CdO) is an inorganic compound and one of the main precursors to other cadmium compounds. It finds applications in cadmium plating, storage batteries, in transparent conducting film, etc. Here, an attempt is made to synthesize CdO nano particles by sol-gel technique. The gel was prepared using cadmium nitrate tetra hydrate (Cd(NO3)2.4H2O) and aqueous ammonium hydroxide (NH4OH) as a precursor. The synthesized powder is further characterized by techniques like Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). Powder XRD analysis suggested the nano-crystalline nature of the sample with the cubic crystal system. Nano scaled particles of spherical morphology with the size ranging from 50-100 nm are observed from TEM images. While, FT-IR study is used to confirm the presence of different functional groups. Thermo-gravimetric analysis suggests the highly thermally stable nature of the samples. The results are discussed.

  5. Structural, impedance and Mössbauer studies of magnesium ferrite synthesized via sol–gel auto-combustion process

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shahid Khan Durrani

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Crystalline magnesium ferrite (MgFe2O4 spinel oxide powder was synthesized by nitrate–citrate sol–gel auto-combustion process with stoichiometric composition of metal nitrate salts, urea and citric acid. The study was focused on the modification of synthesis conditions and effect of these modified conditions on the structural and electrical properties of synthesized MgFe2O4 ceramic materials. Phase composition, crystallinity, structure and surface morphology were studied by X-ray diffraction, FTIR and SEM. Pure single phase MgFe2O4 spinel ferrite was obtained after calcination at 850 °C. Rietveld refinement of XRD result confirmed the single cubic phase spinel oxide with the lattice constant of a = 8.3931 Å and Fd3m symmetry. UV–visible absorption study of calcined powder revealed an optical band gap of 2.17 eV. SEM images of sintered specimens (1050–1450 °C showed that the grain size increased with the increase in sintering temperature. From the impedance results of the sintered MgFe2O4 specimens, it was found that the resistance of grain, grain boundary and electrode effect decreased with an increase in sintering temperature and associated grain growth. In the intermediate frequency region lowering of impedance and dielectric values was observed due to the decrease in grain boundary areas. Mössbauer studies indicated that magnesium ferrite had a mixed spinel structure in calcined and sintered samples, however, the well refined single phase MgFe2O4 was observed due to well developed high crystalline structure at 1350 °C and 1450 °C. Keywords: Sol–gel auto-combustion, Magnesium ferrite, X-ray diffraction, SEM, Mössbauer spectroscopy, Impedance spectroscopy

  6. Development and evaluation of exemestane-loaded lyotropic liquid crystalline gel formulations

    OpenAIRE

    Musa, Muhammad Nuh; David, Sheba Rani; Zulkipli, Ihsan Nazurah; Mahadi, Abdul Hanif; Chakravarthi, Srikumar; Rajabalaya, Rajan

    2017-01-01

    Introduction: The use of liquid crystalline (LC) gel formulations for drug delivery has considerably improved the current delivery methods in terms of bioavailability and efficacy. The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate LC gel formulations to deliver the anti-cancer drug exemestane through transdermal route. Methods: Two LC gel formulations were prepared by phase separation coacervation method using glyceryl monooleate (GMO), Tween 80 and Pluronic® F127 (F127). The formulations...

  7. Heat capacities, third-law entropies and thermodynamic functions of the negative thermal expansion materials, cubic α-ZrW2O8 and cubic ZrMo2O8, from T=(0 to 400) K

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stevens, Rebecca; Linford, Jessica; Woodfield, Brian F.; Boerio-Goates, Juliana.; Lind, Cora; Wilkinson, Angus P.; Kowach, Glen

    2003-01-01

    The molar heat capacities of crystalline cubic α-ZrW 2 O 8 and cubic ZrMo 2 O 8 have been measured at temperatures from (0.6 to 400) K. At T=298.15 K, the standard molar heat capacities are (207.01±0.21) J·K -1 ·mol -1 for the tungstate and (210.06±0.42) J·K -1 ·mol -1 for the molybdate. Thermodynamic functions have been generated from smoothed fits of the experimental results. The standard molar entropies for the tungstate and molybdate are (257.96±0.50) J·K -1 ·mol -1 and (254.3±1) J·K -1 ·mol -1 , respectively. The uncertainty of the entropy of the cubic ZrMo 2 O 8 is larger due to the presence of small chemical and phase impurities whose effects cannot be corrected for at this time. The heat capacities of the negative thermal expansion materials have been compared to the weighted sums of their constituent binary oxides. Both negative thermal expansion materials have heat capacities which are significantly greater than the sum of the binary oxides over the entire temperature region

  8. Bifurcation of limit cycles for cubic reversible systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yi Shao

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available This article is concerned with the bifurcation of limit cycles of a class of cubic reversible system having a center at the origin. We prove that this system has at least four limit cycles produced by the period annulus around the center under cubic perturbations

  9. Vapor-Liquid Equilibria of Systems Containing Acetic Acid and Gaseous Components. Measurements and Calculations by a Cubic Equiation of State

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jonasson, Ari Jonas; Persson, Ole Hilding; Rasmussen, Peter

    1998-01-01

    Isothermal pressure-composition VLE data have been measured for four systems containing acetic acid and a gaseous component. The gaseous components are carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen and methane. The measurements were made in a static cell and the compositions of the gas and the liquid...... phases were measured by a gas chromatograph.A new model (ACE, Association + Cubic Equation of state) was developed. It is based on a cubic equation of state and a model for the dimerization of acetic acid. It was applied to correlate the experimental VLE data with good results....

  10. Densification and crystallization behaviour of colloidal cordierite-type gels

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    LJILJANA KOSTIC-GVOZDENOVIC

    2001-05-01

    Full Text Available Three cordierite-type gels were prepared from an aqueous solution of Mg(NO32, a boehmite sol and silica sols of very small particle sizes. The effect of varying the silica particle size on the crystallization and densification behaviour was studied. Phase development was examined by thermal analysis and X-ray diffraction, while the densification behaviour was characterized by measuring the linear shrinkage of pellets. The activation energy of densification by viscous flow was determined using the Franckel model for non-isothermal conditions and a constant heating rate. The results show that spinel crystallizes from the colloidal gels prior to cristobalite, and their reaction gives a-cordierite, which is specific for three-phase gels. Decreasing the silica particles size lowers the cristobalite crystallization temperature and the a-cordierite formation temperature. The activation energy of densification by viscous flow is lower and the densification more efficient, the smaller the silica particles are.

  11. First-principles determination of band-to-band electronic transition energies in cubic and hexagonal AlGaInN alloys

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F. L. Freitas

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available We provide approximate quasiparticle-corrected band gap energies for quaternary cubic and hexagonal AlxGayIn1–x–yN semiconductor alloys, employing a cluster expansion method to account for the inherent statistical disorder of the system. Calculated values are compared with photoluminescence measurements and discussed within the currently accepted model of emission in these materials by carrier localization. It is shown that bowing parameters are larger in the cubic phase, while the range of band gap variation is bigger in the hexagonal one. Experimentally determined transition energies are mostly consistent with band-to-band excitations.

  12. First-principles determination of band-to-band electronic transition energies in cubic and hexagonal AlGaInN alloys

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Freitas, F. L., E-mail: felipelopesfreitas@gmail.com; Marques, M.; Teles, L. K. [Grupo de Materiais Semicondutores e Nanotecnologia, Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica, 12228-900 São José dos Campos, SP (Brazil)

    2016-08-15

    We provide approximate quasiparticle-corrected band gap energies for quaternary cubic and hexagonal Al{sub x}Ga{sub y}In{sub 1–x–y}N semiconductor alloys, employing a cluster expansion method to account for the inherent statistical disorder of the system. Calculated values are compared with photoluminescence measurements and discussed within the currently accepted model of emission in these materials by carrier localization. It is shown that bowing parameters are larger in the cubic phase, while the range of band gap variation is bigger in the hexagonal one. Experimentally determined transition energies are mostly consistent with band-to-band excitations.

  13. Influence of Eu{sup 3+} doping content on antioxidant properties of Lu{sub 2}O{sub 3} sol-gel derived nanoparticles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Olvera Salazar, Arturo [Universidad Del Valle de México Campus Lomas Verde, Paseo de las Aves No.1 Col. San Mateo Nopala. Naucalpan de Juárez, Edo. Méx. C.P. 53220 (Mexico); García Hernández, Margarita, E-mail: margarita.garcia@itcm.edu.mx [Tecnológico Nacional de México-Instituto Tecnológico de Ciudad Madero. Av. 1o. de Mayo esq. Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz s/n Col. Los Mangos Cd. Madero Tamaulipas C.P.89440 (Mexico); López Camacho, Perla Yolanda [Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Unidad Cuajimalpa. Av. Vasco de Quiroga 4871, Col. Santa Fé Cuajimalpa, Cuajimalpa D.F. C.P. 05348 (Mexico); López Marure, Arturo [Instituto Politécnico Nacional, CICATA Altamira. Carretera Tampico-Puerto Industrial Altamira, Altamira, Tamaulipas C.P. 89600 (Mexico); Reyes de la Torre, Adriana Isabel [Tecnológico Nacional de México-Instituto Tecnológico de Ciudad Madero. Av. 1o. de Mayo esq. Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz s/n Col. Los Mangos Cd. Madero Tamaulipas C.P.89440 (Mexico); Morales Ramírez, Ángel de Jesús [Instituto Politécnico Nacional, CIITEC Azcapotzalco. Cerrada de Cecati S/N, Col. Santa Catarina, Azcapotzalco, D.F. C.P. 02250 (Mexico); and others

    2016-12-01

    This paper presents the synthesis of pure and europium-doped lutetium oxide (Lu{sub 2}O{sub 3}) powders prepared by sol-gel method. The influence of europium ion concentration into Lu{sub 2}O{sub 3} nanocrystallites was investigated for first time in an in vitro system using a modified ABTS radical cation decolorization assay to determine the antioxidant activity. The crystalline structure of Lu{sub 2}O{sub 3} and Eu:Lu{sub 2}O{sub 3} powders was elucidated by XRD obtaining cubic phase in all system without secondary products in accordance with FT-IR results. By TEM and Scherrer equation, it was determined that Lu{sub 2}O{sub 3} and Eu:Lu{sub 2}O{sub 3} powders presented nearly spherical particle morphology with crystallites sizes in the range of 8 to 13 nm. The antioxidant assays results revealed that europium ion enhance Lu{sub 2}O{sub 3} powders antioxidant properties, showing that 12.5 mol% of europium is sufficient to reach its maximum capacity. - Highlights: • For first time the effect of the Eu content vs antioxidant properties was studied. • Sol-gel particles of Lu{sub 2}O{sub 3}:Eu{sup 3+} nanopowders showed relevant antioxidant properties. • The antioxidant behavior remains stable at higher Eu levels.

  14. Cubic interactions of Maxwell-like higher spins

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Francia, Dario [Scuola Normale Superiore and INFN,Piazza dei Cavalieri, 7 I-56126 Pisa (Italy); Monaco, Gabriele Lo [Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Pisa,Piazza Fibonacci, 3, I-56126, Pisa (Italy); Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Milano-Bicocca,Piazza della Scienza 3, I-20126 Milano (Italy); Mkrtchyan, Karapet [Max Planck Institut für Gravitationsphysik,Am Mühlenberg 1, Potsdam 14476 (Germany)

    2017-04-12

    We study the cubic vertices for Maxwell-like higher-spins in flat and (A)dS background spaces of any dimension. Reducibility of their free spectra implies that a single cubic vertex involving any three fields subsumes a number of couplings among different particles of various spins. The resulting vertices do not involve traces of the fields and in this sense are simpler than their Fronsdal counterparts. We propose an extension of both the free theory and of its cubic deformation to a more general class of partially reducible systems, that one can obtain from the original theory upon imposing trace constraints of various orders. The key to our results is a version of the Noether procedure allowing to systematically account for the deformations of the transversality conditions to be imposed on the gauge parameters at the free level.

  15. An Abel type cubic system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gary R. Nicklason

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available We consider center conditions for plane polynomial systems of Abel type consisting of a linear center perturbed by the sum of 2 homogeneous polynomials of degrees n and 2n-1 where $n \\ge 2$. Using properties of Abel equations we obtain two general systems valid for arbitrary values on n. For the cubic n=2 systems we find several sets of new center conditions, some of which show that the results in a paper by Hill, Lloyd and Pearson which were conjectured to be complete are in fact not complete. We also present a particular system which appears to be a counterexample to a conjecture by Zoladek et al. regarding rational reversibility in cubic polynomial systems.

  16. Cubication of conservative nonlinear oscillators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Belendez, Augusto; Alvarez, Mariela L; Fernandez, Elena; Pascual, Inmaculada

    2009-01-01

    A cubication procedure of the nonlinear differential equation for conservative nonlinear oscillators is analysed and discussed. This scheme is based on the Chebyshev series expansion of the restoring force, and this allows us to approximate the original nonlinear differential equation by a Duffing equation in which the coefficients for the linear and cubic terms depend on the initial amplitude, A, while in a Taylor expansion of the restoring force these coefficients are independent of A. The replacement of the original nonlinear equation by an approximate Duffing equation allows us to obtain an approximate frequency-amplitude relation as a function of the complete elliptic integral of the first kind. Some conservative nonlinear oscillators are analysed to illustrate the usefulness and effectiveness of this scheme.

  17. First-principles study of nitrogen doping in cubic and amorphous Ge2Sb2Te5

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caravati, S.; Colleoni, D.; Mazzarello, R.; Kühne, T. D.; Krack, M.; Bernasconi, M.; Parrinello, M.

    2011-07-01

    We investigated the structural, electronic and vibrational properties of amorphous and cubic Ge2Sb2Te5 doped with N at 4.2 at.% by means of large scale ab initio simulations. Nitrogen can be incorporated in molecular form in both the crystalline and amorphous phases at a moderate energy cost. In contrast, insertion of N in the atomic form is very energetically costly in the crystalline phase, though it is still possible in the amorphous phase. These results support the suggestion that N segregates at the grain boundaries during the crystallization of the amorphous phase, resulting in a reduction in size of the crystalline grains and an increased crystallization temperature.

  18. Phase mapping of aging process in InN nanostructures: oxygen incorporation and the role of the zinc blende phase

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gonzalez, D; Lozano, J G; Herrera, M; Morales, F M; GarcIa, R; Ruffenach, S; Briot, O

    2010-01-01

    Uncapped InN nanostructures undergo a deleterious natural aging process at ambient conditions by oxygen incorporation. The phases involved in this process and their localization is mapped by transmission electron microscopy (TEM)-related techniques. The parent wurtzite InN (InN-w) phase disappears from the surface and gradually forms a highly textured cubic layer that completely wraps up a InN-w nucleus which still remains from the original single-crystalline quantum dots. The good reticular relationships between the different crystals generate low misfit strains and explain the apparent easiness for phase transformations at room temperature and pressure conditions, but also disable the classical methods to identify phases and grains from TEM images. The application of the geometrical phase algorithm in order to form numerical moire mappings and RGB multilayered image reconstructions allows us to discern among the different phases and grains formed inside these nanostructures. Samples aged for shorter times reveal the presence of metastable InN:O zinc blende (zb) volumes, which act as the intermediate phase between the initial InN-w and the most stable cubic In 2 O 3 end phase. These cubic phases are highly twinned with a proportion of 50:50 between both orientations. We suggest that the existence of the intermediate InN:O-zb phase should be seriously considered to understand the reason for the widely scattered reported fundamental properties of thought to be InN-w, as its bandgap or superconductivity.

  19. Three-phase molecularly imprinted sol-gel based hollow fiber liquid-phase microextraction combined with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry for enrichment and selective determination of a tentative lung cancer biomarker.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moein, Mohammad Mahdi; Javanbakht, Mehran; Karimi, Mohammad; Akbari-Adergani, Behrouz; Abdel-Rehim, Mohamed

    2015-07-15

    In the present study, the modification of a polysulfone hollow fiber membrane with in situ molecularly imprinted sol-gel process (as a novel and one-step method) was prepared and investigated. 3-(propylmethacrylate)trimethoxysilane (3PMTMOS) as an inorganic precursor was used for preparation of molecularly imprinted sol-gel. The modified molecularly imprinted sol-gel hollow fiber membrane (MSHM) was used for the liquid-phase microextraction (LPME) of hippuric acid (HA) in human plasma and urine samples. MSHM as a selective, robust, and durable tool was used for at least 50 extractions without significant decrease in the extraction efficiency. The non-molecularly imprinted sol-gel hollow fiber membrane (NSHM) as blank hollow fiber membrane was prepared by the same process, only without HA. To achieve the best condition, influential parameters on the extraction efficiency were thoroughly investigated. The capability of this robust, green, and simple method for extraction of HA was successfully accomplished with LC/MS/MS. The limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) in human plasma and urine samples were 0.3 and 1.0nmolL(-1), respectively. The standard calibration curves were obtained within the concentration range 1-2000nmolL(-1) for HA in human plasma and urine. The coefficients of determination (r(2)) were ≥0.998. The obtained data exhibited recoveries were higher than 89% for the extraction of HA in human plasma and urine samples. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. 3D MR gel dosimetry with lung equivalent gel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Scherer, J.; Solleder, M.; Schiessl, I.; Bogner, L.; Herbst, M.

    1998-01-01

    The MR gel dosimetry is used to verify complex 3D treatment plans. Till now this method served only for dose evaluation in homogeneous phantoms. On the way to build a heterogeneous anthropomorphic gel phantom, a lung equivalent gel with the density 0.4 g/cm 3 was developed. First experiments show a 1.55 times higher dose reponse in the low density gel (LD gel). The comparison of a dose distribution in a gel/LD gel/gel slab phantom with Monte Carlo calculations shows good agreement within 5%. More over the accuray of the measuring device magnetic resonance imager was studied in respect to the now exclusive digital image processing with the software MRD (MR dosimetry). Because of the dimensions of the Fricke gel phantom an artefact correction, based on the data from the unirradiated phantom proved to be essential. (orig.) [de

  1. Nature of phase transitions in crystalline and amorphous GeTe-Sb2Te3 phase change materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalkan, B; Sen, S; Clark, S M

    2011-09-28

    The thermodynamic nature of phase stabilities and transformations are investigated in crystalline and amorphous Ge(1)Sb(2)Te(4) (GST124) phase change materials as a function of pressure and temperature using high-resolution synchrotron x-ray diffraction in a diamond anvil cell. The phase transformation sequences upon compression, for cubic and hexagonal GST124 phases are found to be: cubic → amorphous → orthorhombic → bcc and hexagonal → orthorhombic → bcc. The Clapeyron slopes for melting of the hexagonal and bcc phases are negative and positive, respectively, resulting in a pressure dependent minimum in the liquidus. When taken together, the phase equilibria relations are consistent with the presence of polyamorphism in this system with the as-deposited amorphous GST phase being the low entropy low-density amorphous phase and the laser melt-quenched and high-pressure amorphized GST being the high entropy high-density amorphous phase. The metastable phase boundary between these two polyamorphic phases is expected to have a negative Clapeyron slope. © 2011 American Institute of Physics

  2. Pharmacokinetic evaluation of novel midazolam gel formulations following buccal administration to healthy dogs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aldawsari, Mohammed F; Lau, Vivian W; Babu, Ramapuram J; Arnold, Robert D; Platt, Simon R

    2018-01-01

    OBJECTIVE To determine the physiochemical properties and pharmacokinetics of 3 midazolam gel formulations following buccal administration to dogs. ANIMALS 5 healthy adult hounds. PROCEDURES In phase 1 of a 2-phase study, 2 gel formulations were developed that contained 1% midazolam in a poloxamer 407 (P1) or hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (H1) base and underwent rheological and in vitro release analyses. Each formulation was buccally administered to 5 dogs such that 0.3 mg of midazolam/kg was delivered. Each dog also received midazolam hydrochloride (0.3 mg/kg, IV). There was a 3-day interval between treatments. Blood samples were collected immediately before and at predetermined times for 8 hours after drug administration for determination of plasma midazolam concentration and pharmacokinetic analysis. During phase 2, a gel containing 2% midazolam in a hydroxypropyl methylcellulose base (H2) was developed on the basis of phase 1 results. That gel was buccally administered such that midazolam doses of 0.3 and 0.6 mg/kg were delivered. Each dog also received midazolam (0.3 mg/kg, IV). All posttreatment procedures were the same as those for phase 1. RESULTS The H1 and H2 formulations had lower viscosity, greater bioavailability, and peak plasma midazolam concentrations that were approximately 2-fold as high, compared with those for the P1 formulation. The mean peak plasma midazolam concentration for the H2 formulation was 187.0 and 106.3 ng/mL when the midazolam dose administered was 0.6 and 0.3 mg/kg, respectively. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Results indicated that buccal administration of gel formulations might be a viable alternative for midazolam administration to dogs.

  3. Nonlinear dynamics of quadratically cubic systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rudenko, O V

    2013-01-01

    We propose a modified form of the well-known nonlinear dynamic equations with quadratic relations used to model a cubic nonlinearity. We show that such quadratically cubic equations sometimes allow exact solutions and sometimes make the original problem easier to analyze qualitatively. Occasionally, exact solutions provide a useful tool for studying new phenomena. Examples considered include nonlinear ordinary differential equations and Hopf, Burgers, Korteweg–de Vries, and nonlinear Schrödinger partial differential equations. Some problems are solved exactly in the space–time and spectral representations. Unsolved problems potentially solvable by the proposed approach are listed. (methodological notes)

  4. Characterization of ceramic sol-gel coatings as an alternative chemical conversion treatment on commercial carbon steel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dominguez-Crespo, M.A.; Garcia-Murillo, A.; Torres-Huerta, A.M.; Carrillo-Romo, F.J.; Onofre-Bustamante, E.; Yanez-Zamora, C.

    2009-01-01

    Sol-gel yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) thin films were prepared on commercial carbon steel sheets by dip-coating technique followed by a low temperature heat treatment (473, 573, and 673 K for 1 h) in order to improve both corrosion properties and adhesion. For comparison, zirconia (ZrO 2 ) coatings have been also analyzed. Electrochemical techniques, Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to characterize the anticorrosion behavior of the coatings in a 3.5 wt% NaCl solution. The adhesion with a polyester organic coating was evaluated by the pull-off technique. The typical thickness of the deposited layers ranged from 1 to 1.3 μm depending on process parameters. The obtained results indicated that sol-gel ZrO 2 and YSZ coatings without an organic coating can act as protective barriers against wet corrosion during the first hours, but they fail when the time exposure is longer than 1 day. However, when synthesized films were used as a pre-treatment and an organic coating was added (top-coated), the anticorrosive and adhesion properties were strongly affected by the temperature of the treatment, and an increase in both properties was observed at higher temperatures. The structural and morphological characteristics of the coating provide an explanation of the role of each film in the electrochemical behavior in this aggressive medium. Comparing both systems, YSZ displayed greater protective and adhesion values than exhibited for ZrO 2 which can be correlated with the stabilization of the cubic phase

  5. Oxygen-17 relaxation in aqueous agarose gels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ablett, S.; Lillford, P.J.

    1977-01-01

    Nuclear magnetic relaxation of oxygen-17 in H 2 17 O enriched agarose gels shows that existing explanations of water behaviour are oversimplified. Satisfactory models must include at least three proton phases, two of which involve water molecules. (Auth.)

  6. Synthesis of yttrium silicate luminescent materials by sol-gel method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arkhipov, D.V.; Vasina, O.Yu.; Popovich, N.V.; Galaktionov, S.S.; Soshchin, N.P.

    1996-01-01

    Several yttrium-silicate composition with Y 2 O 3 content within 44-56% have been synthesized. it is ascertained that employment of sol-gel technique permits preparation of luminescent materials on yttrium silicate basis, which compare favourably with bath-produced specimens. The influence of phase composition of sol-gel phosphors on basic performance indices: intensity and luminescence spectrum, has been analyzed

  7. Sol–gel-based silver nanoparticles-doped silica – Polydiphenylamine nanocomposite for micro-solid-phase extraction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bagheri, Habib, E-mail: bagheri@sharif.edu; Banihashemi, Solmaz

    2015-07-30

    A nanocomposite of silica-polydiphenylamine doped with silver nanoparticles (Ag–SiO{sub 2}-PDPA) was successfully synthesized by the sol–gel process. For its preparation, PDPA was mixed with butanethiol capped Ag nanoparticles (NPs) and added to the silica sol solution. The Ag NPs were stabilized as a result of their adsorption on the SiO{sub 2} spheres. The surface characteristic of nanocomposite was investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In this work the Ag–SiO{sub 2}-PDPA nanocomposite was employed as an efficient sorbent for micro-solid-phase extraction (μ-SPE) of some selected pesticides. An amount of 15 mg of the prepared sorbent was used to extract and determine the representatives from organophosphorous, organochlorine and aryloxyphenoxy propionic acids from aqueous samples. After the implementation of extraction process, the analytes were desorbed by methanol and determined using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). Important parameters influencing the extraction and desorption processes such as pH of sample solution, salting out effect, type and volume of the desorption solvent, the sample loading and eluting flow rates along with the sample volume were experimentally optimized. Limits of detection (LODs) and the limits of quantification (LOQs) were in the range of 0.02–0.05 μg L{sup −1} and 0.1–0.2 μg L{sup −1}, respectively, using time scheduled selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode. The relative standard deviation percent (RSD %) with four replicates was in the range of 6–10%. The applicability of the developed method was examined by analyzing different environmental water samples and the relative recovery (RR %) values for the spiked water samples were found to be in the range of 86–103%. - Highlights: • A sol–gel-based silver nanoparticles doped silica-polydiphenylamine nanocomposite was synthesized. • The sorbent was applied to micro-solid-phase extraction of some selected pesticides in water

  8. First-principles comparison of the cubic and tetragonal phases of Mo3Sb7

    KAUST Repository

    Nazir, Safdar; Auluck, Sushil V.; Pulikkotil, Jiji Thomas Joseph; Singh, Nirpendra; Schwingenschlö gl, Udo

    2011-01-01

    Using ab initio density functional based methods, we study the normal metal state properties of the ∼3 K Mo3Sb7 superconductor, in its high temperature cubic and low temperature tetragonal structures. Although the density of states at the Fermi energy is reasonably high in both structures, our calculations unequivocally show that there exists no long range magnetic ordering in this system. We also address the optical properties of the compound. The magnetism in Mo3Sb7 is studied by fixed spin moment calculations, which yield a shallow non-magnetic minimum, thus inferring propensity to a magnetic instability. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. First-principles comparison of the cubic and tetragonal phases of Mo3Sb7

    KAUST Repository

    Nazir, Safdar

    2011-03-01

    Using ab initio density functional based methods, we study the normal metal state properties of the ∼3 K Mo3Sb7 superconductor, in its high temperature cubic and low temperature tetragonal structures. Although the density of states at the Fermi energy is reasonably high in both structures, our calculations unequivocally show that there exists no long range magnetic ordering in this system. We also address the optical properties of the compound. The magnetism in Mo3Sb7 is studied by fixed spin moment calculations, which yield a shallow non-magnetic minimum, thus inferring propensity to a magnetic instability. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. On Application of Non-cubic EoS to Compositional Reservoir Simulation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yan, Wei; Michelsen, Michael Locht; Stenby, Erling Halfdan

    Compositional reservoir simulation uses almost exclusively cubic equations of state (EoS) such as the SRK EoS and the PR EoS. This is in contrast with process simulation in the downstream industry where more recent and advanced thermodynamic models are quickly adopted. Many of these models are non-cubic...... EoS, such as the PC-SAFT EoS. A major reason for the use of the conventional cubic EoS in reservoir simulation is the concern over computation time. Flash computation is the most time consuming part in compositional reservoir simulation, and the extra complexity of the non-cubic EoS may significantly...... increase the time consumption. In addition to this, the non-cubic EoS also needs a C7+ characterization. The main advantage of the non-cubic EoS is that it provides for a more accurate descrition of fluid properties, and it is therefore of interest to investigate the computational aspects of using...

  11. Purely cubic action for string field theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horowitz, G. T.; Lykken, J.; Rohm, R.; Strominger, A.

    1986-01-01

    It is shown that Witten's (1986) open-bosonic-string field-theory action and a closed-string analog can be written as a purely cubic interaction term. The conventional form of the action arises by expansion around particular solutions of the classical equations of motion. The explicit background dependence of the conventional action via the Becchi-Rouet-Stora-Tyutin operator is eliminated in the cubic formulation. A closed-form expression is found for the full nonlinear gauge-transformation law.

  12. Anomalous piezoelectric properties of poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene)/ionic liquid gels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fukagawa, Miki; Koshiba, Yasuko; Fukushima, Tatsuya; Morimoto, Masahiro; Ishida, Kenji

    2018-04-01

    Piezoelectric gels were prepared from low-volatile ionic liquid (IL) 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([Emim][TFSI]) gels, and their structural, ferroelectric, and piezoelectric properties were investigated. Poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) P(VDF-TrFE)/IL gels were formed using thermally reversible physical gels. The structural characterization indicated that the P(VDF-TrFE) molecules in the gels predominantly formed a ferroelectric phase (Form I) of P(VDF-TrFE). Polarization switching peaks were clearly observed using a three-layer stacked device structure. The coercive field of the P(VDF-TrFE)/IL gels substantially decreased to 4-9 MV/m, and their remnant polarizations were maintained at 63-71 mC/m2, which is similar to that for typical solid-state P(VDF-TrFE). Finally, the P(VDF-TrFE)/IL gel films exhibited a piezoelectric response, and the highest piezoelectric coefficient was ˜300 pm/V at an applied voltage frequency of 4 kHz.

  13. Effect of annealing temperature on the crystalline quality and phase transformation of chemically deposited CdSe films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zapata-Torres, M.; Chale-Lara, F.; Caballero-Briones, F.; Calzadilla, O.

    2005-01-01

    Polycrystalline CdSe thin films were grown on glass substrates by chemical bath deposition at 50 C. The samples were annealed in air atmosphere at different temperatures and characterized by X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. It was found that the as-grown films have cubic structure. These samples maintain their cubic structure for annealing temperatures between 60 C and 300 C. For annealing temperatures higher than 300 C we obtain a mixture of cubic and hexagonal phases. The analysis made by X-ray diffraction and Raman dispersion show that the samples annealed at temperatures under the phase-transition temperature increase their crystalline quality. In order to determinate the temperature for the complete transition of the cubic phase, we used the precipitated material obtained during the grown of the CdSe films. This material was annealed on air atmosphere between 300 C and 500 C with 50 intervals. The samples were measured by X-ray diffraction. The samples maintained the cubic structure if the annealing temperature is under 300 C. For temperatures between 300 C and 450 C we found a mixture of cubic and hexagonal phase. For an annealing temperature of 500 C we obtain only the hexagonal phase. (copyright 2005 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

  14. Eliminating cubic terms in the pseudopotential lattice Boltzmann model for multiphase flow

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Rongzong; Wu, Huiying; Adams, Nikolaus A.

    2018-05-01

    It is well recognized that there exist additional cubic terms of velocity in the lattice Boltzmann (LB) model based on the standard lattice. In this work, elimination of these cubic terms in the pseudopotential LB model for multiphase flow is investigated, where the force term and density gradient are considered. By retaining high-order (≥3 ) Hermite terms in the equilibrium distribution function and the discrete force term, as well as introducing correction terms in the LB equation, the additional cubic terms of velocity are entirely eliminated. With this technique, the computational simplicity of the pseudopotential LB model is well maintained. Numerical tests, including stationary and moving flat and circular interface problems, are carried out to show the effects of such cubic terms on the simulation of multiphase flow. It is found that the elimination of additional cubic terms is beneficial to reduce the numerical error, especially when the velocity is relatively large. Numerical results also suggest that these cubic terms mainly take effect in the interfacial region and that the density-gradient-related cubic terms are more important than the other cubic terms for multiphase flow.

  15. Droplet and bubble nucleation modeled by density gradient theory – cubic equation of state versus saft model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hrubý Jan

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available The study presents some preliminary results of the density gradient theory (GT combined with two different equations of state (EoS: the classical cubic equation by van der Waals and a recent approach based on the statistical associating fluid theory (SAFT, namely its perturbed-chain (PC modification. The results showed that the cubic EoS predicted for a given surface tension the density profile with a noticeable defect. Bulk densities predicted by the cubic EoS differed as much as by 100 % from the reference data. On the other hand, the PC-SAFT EoS provided accurate results for density profile and both bulk densities in the large range of temperatures. It has been shown that PC-SAFT is a promising tool for accurate modeling of nucleation using the GT. Besides the basic case of a planar phase interface, the spherical interface was analyzed to model a critical cluster occurring either for nucleation of droplets (condensation or bubbles (boiling, cavitation. However, the general solution for the spherical interface will require some more attention due to its numerical difficulty.

  16. Optical Studies on Sol-Gel Derived Lead Chloride Crystals

    OpenAIRE

    Rejeena, I; Lillibai, B; Nithyaja, B; Nampoori, P.N V; Radhakrishnan, P

    2013-01-01

    Optical characterization of lead chloride crystals prepared by sol-gel method is reported. The relevant sol-gel technique is used for the preparation of PbCl2 samples with five different types. In this paper, we report the absorption and fluorescence behaviour of pure, UV& IR irradiated and electric & magnetic field applied lead chloride crystal samples in solution phase at two different concentrations. Optical bandgap and emission studies of these crystals are also done.

  17. Intermetallic phases in the iron-rich region of the Zr-Fe phase diagram

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Granovsky, M.S. [Comision Nacional de Energia Atomica, Buenos Aires (Argentina). Dept. de Materiales; Arias, D. [Comision Nacional de Energia Atomica, Buenos Aires (Argentina). Dept. de Materiales

    1996-04-01

    Intermetallic phases in the Fe-rich region of the Zr-Fe system are studied by X-ray diffraction and optical and electron microscopy. The chemical composition of each phase has been quantitatively measured in a electron microprobe. The stable phases found in this region are ZrFe{sub 2}, Zr{sub 6}Fe{sub 23} and ({alpha}Fe). ZrFe{sub 2} is identified as a cubic Laves type phase (C15) and the ZrFe{sub 2}/ZrFe{sub 2}+Zr{sub 6}Fe{sub 23} boundary composition is 73{+-}1 at.% Fe. Zr{sub 6}Fe{sub 23} is a cubic phase of the Th{sub 6}Mn{sub 23} type and its composition is 80.0{+-}1.5 at.% Fe. The eutectic L{r_reversible}Zr{sub 6}Fe{sub 23}+{tau}-Fe transformation temperature and composition are 1325 C and 91{+-}1 at.% Fe, respectively. The solubility of Zr in {tau}-Fe at 1012 C is 500{+-}50 appm and 1000{+-}100 appm close to the eutectic temperature. (orig.).

  18. Development of an on-line mixed-mode gel liquid chromatography×reversed phase liquid chromatography method for separation of water extract from Flos Carthami.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yu-Qing; Tang, Xu; Li, Jia-Fu; Wu, Yun-Long; Sun, Yu-Ying; Fang, Mei-Juan; Wu, Zhen; Wang, Xiu-Min; Qiu, Ying-Kun

    2017-10-13

    A novel on-line comprehensive two-dimensional liquid chromatography (2D-LC) method by coupling mixed-mode gel liquid chromatography (MMG-LC) with reversed phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) was developed. A mixture of 17 reference compounds was used to study the separation mechanism. A crude water extract of Flos Carthami was applied to evaluate the performance of the novel 2D-LC system. In the first dimension, the extract was eluted with a gradient of water/methanol over a cross-linked dextran gel Sephadex LH-20 column. Meanwhile, the advantages of size exclusion, reversed phase partition and adsorption separation mechanism were exploited before further on-line reversed phase purification on the second dimension. This novel on-line mixed-mode Sephadex LH-20×RPLC method provided higher peak resolution, sample processing ability (2.5mg) and better orthogonality (72.9%) versus RPLC×RPLC and hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC)×RPLC. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a mixed-mode Sephadex LH-20×RPLC separation method with successful applications in on-line mode, which might be beneficial for harvesting targets from complicated medicinal plants. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Thermal and Hydrothermal Treatment of Silica Gels as Solid Stationary Phases in Gas Chromatography

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ashraf Yehia El-Naggar

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Silica gel was prepared and treated thermally and hydrothermally and was characterized as solid stationary phase in gas chromatography. The characteristics have been evaluated in terms of polarity, selectivity, and separation efficiencies. These parameters were used to assess the outer silica surface contributions and the degree of surface deactivation brought about by different treatment techniques. The parent silica elutes the paraffinic hydrocarbons with high efficiency of separation and elutes aromatic hydrocarbons with nearly good separation and has bad separation of alcohols. The calcined silica at 500°C and 1000°C has a pronounced effect on the separation of aromatic hydrocarbons compared with the parent silica and hydrothermal treatment of silica. With respect to alcohols separation, the obtained bad separations using treated and untreated silica reflect the little effect of the thermal and hydrothermal treatment on the silica surface deactivation.

  20. Effect of grinding and polishing on near-surface phase transformations in zirconia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reed, J.S.; Lejus, A.M.

    1977-01-01

    The transformation of near-surface material on grinding and polishing has been investigated in sintered zirconia of 1 μm grain size and 99 percent density containing 4.5 and 7.0 mole percent Y 2 O 3 . Rough wet and dry grinding transformed about 20 percent cubic phase into 18 percent tetragonal and 2 percent monoclinic in material initially 47 percent cubic and 53 percent tetragonal (4.5 mole percent Y 2 O 3 ) but no change of phase in material that was fully cubic (7.0 mole percent Y 2 O 3 ). Annealing and polishing reduced lattice strain but only polishing reduced the concentration of monoclinic and tetragonal phases. Microhardness studies indicated that lattice strain and the phase transformations increased the penetration hardness to a depth of about 4 μm

  1. Origin and chemical composition of the amorphous material from the intergrain pores of self-assembled cubic ZnS:Mn nanocrystals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stefan, Mariana; Vlaicu, Ioana Dorina; Nistor, Leona Cristina; Ghica, Daniela; Nistor, Sergiu Vasile

    2017-12-01

    We have shown in previous investigations that the low temperature collective magnetism observed in mesoporous cubic ZnS:Mn nanocrystalline powders prepared by colloidal synthesis, with nominal doping concentrations above 0.2 at.%, is due to the formation of Mn2+ clusters with distributed antiferromagnetic coupling localized in an amorphous phase found between the cubic ZnS:Mn nanocrystals. Here we investigate the composition, origin and thermal annealing behavior of this amorphous phase in such a mesoporous ZnS:Mn sample doped with 5 at.% Mn nominal concentration. Correlated analytical transmission electron microscopy, multifrequency electron paramagnetic resonance and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy data show that the amorphous nanomaterial consists of unreacted precursor hydrated zinc and manganese acetates trapped inside the pores and on the surface of the cubic ZnS nanocrystals. The decomposition of the acetates under isochronal annealing up to 270 °C, where the mesoporous structure is still preserved, lead to changes in the nature and strength of the magnetic interactions between the aggregated Mn2+ ions. These results strongly suggest the possibility to modulate the magnetic properties of such transition metal ions doped II-VI mesoporous structures by varying the synthesis conditions and/or by post-synthesis thermochemical treatments.

  2. Phases of Ca from first principles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Qiu, S L; Marcus, P M

    2009-01-01

    Structures and properties of many of the phases of Ca under pressure are calculated from first principles by a systematic procedure that minimizes total energy E with respect to structure under the constraint of constant volume V. The minima of E are followed on successive sweeps of lattice parameters for 11 of 14 Bravais symmetries for one-atom-per-cell structures. The structures include the four orthorhombic phases. Also included are the hexagonal close-packed and cubic diamond phases with two atoms per primitive cell. No uniquely orthorhombic phases are found; all one-atom orthorhombic phases over a mega-bar pressure range are identical to higher-symmetry phases. The simple cubic phase is shown to be stable where it is the ground state. The number of distinct one-atom phases reduces to five plus the two two-atom phases. For each of these phases the Gibbs free energy at pressure p, G(p), is calculated for a non-vibrating lattice; the functions G(p) give the ground state at each p, the relative stabilities of all phases and the thermodynamic phase transition pressures for all phase transitions over a several-megabar range.

  3. Kinks in systems with cubic and quartic anharmonicity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kashcheev, V.N.

    1988-01-01

    For a classical system of interacting particles with on-site cubic or quartic anharmonicity explicit analytic solutions of the d'Alembert equation are obtained in the form of kinks in the presence of dissipation (viscous or Rayleigh) and a constant force. These kinks will be asymptotically stable in the case of quartic anharmonicity and unstable in the case cubic anharmonicity

  4. Sol-gel route of synthesis of nanoparticles of MgFe2O4 and XRD, FTIR and VSM study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pradeep, A.; Priyadharsini, P.; Chandrasekaran, G.

    2008-01-01

    Nanoparticles of MgFe 2 O 4 are synthesized using sol-gel autocombustion method. Structural studies are carried out using X-ray diffraction (XRD). The XRD pattern of MgFe 2 O 4 provides information about single-phase formation of spinel structure with cubic symmetry. The grain size and lattice constant are obtained using XRD data. The cation distribution is also proposed theoretically. The change in site preference of cations in nano-MgFe 2 O 4 is compared with its bulk counterpart. The structural morphology of the nanoparticles is studied using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Formation of spinel structure is conformed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), which also lends support for the cation distribution proposed using XRD data. The effect of nanoregime on parameters such as bond length, vibration frequency and force constant are discussed with the help of FTIR data. The M-H loop of MgFe 2 O 4 has been traced using the Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM) and magnetic parameters such as saturation magnetization (M S ), coercivity (H C ) and retentivity (M R ) are obtained from VSM data

  5. Moment scaling at the sol-gel transition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Botet, R.

    1998-01-01

    Two standard models of sol-gel transition are revisited here from the point of view of their fluctuations in various moments of both the mass-distribution and the gel-mass. Bond-percolation model is an at-equilibrium system and undergoes a static second-order phase transition, while Monte-Carlo Smoluchowski model is an off-equilibrium one and shows a dynamical critical phenomenon. It is shown that the macroscopic quantities can be splitted into the three classes with different scaling properties of their fluctuations, depending on whether they correspond to: (i) non-critical quantities, (ii) critical quantities or to (iii) an order parameter. (author)

  6. Processing of radioactive ruthenium with aluminosilicate gels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kanno, Takuji; Ichinose, Yasuhiro; Ito, Katsuo

    1979-01-01

    Coprecipitation of radioactive Ru with hydroxides has been studied for the purpose of the management of the high level waste from the nuclear fuel reprocessing. Aluminosilicate gel used as coprecipitant was prepared by addition of aqueous sodium hydroxide to sodium aluminate-sodium silicate solution containing ruthenium nitrate. Ruthenium quantitatively precipitates under the conditions, aluminate > 4 x 10 -2 M, Al/Si 0 C. However, volatilization rate of Ru is suppressed by coating with mullite phase into which aluminosilicate gel transformes above 900 0 C. The amount of Ru volatilized in Ar-flow was reduced to about 10% of that in air-flow. (author)

  7. Stepwise synthesis of cubic Au-AgCdS core-shell nanostructures with tunable plasmon resonances and fluorescence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Xiao-Li; Liang, Shan; Nan, Fan; Pan, Yue-Yue; Shi, Jun-Jun; Zhou, Li; Jia, Shuang-Feng; Wang, Jian-Bo; Yu, Xue-Feng; Wang, Qu-Quan

    2013-10-21

    Cubic Au-AgCdS core-shell nanostructures were synthesized through cation exchange method assisted by tributylphosphine (TBP) as a phase-transfer agent. Among intermediate products, Au-Ag core-shell nanocubes exhibited many high-order plasmon resonance modes related to the special cubic shape, and these plasmon bands red-shifted along with the increasing of particle size. The plasmon band of Au core first red-shifted and broadened at the step of Au-Ag₂S and then blue-shifted and narrowed at the step of Au-AgCdS. Since TBP was very crucial for the efficient conversion from Ag₂S to CdS, we found that both absorption and fluorescence of the final products could be controlled by TBP.

  8. Growth and characterization of β-In N films on Mg O: the key role of a β-Ga N buffer layer in growing cubic In N

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Navarro C, H.; Perez C, M.; Rodriguez, A. G.; Lopez L, E.; Vidal, M. A.

    2012-01-01

    Cubic In N samples were grown on Mg O (001) substrates by gas source molecular beam epitaxy. In general, we find that In N directly deposited onto the Mg O substrate results in polycrystalline or columnar films of hexagonal symmetry. We find that adequate conditions to grow the cubic phase of this compound require the growth of an initial cubic Ga N buffer interlayer (β-t Ga N) on the Mg O surface. Subsequently, the growth conditions were optimized to obtain good photoluminescence (Pl) emission. The resultant In N growth is mostly cubic, with very small hexagonal inclusions, as confirmed by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy studies. Good crystalline quality requires that the samples to be grown under rich Indium metal flux. The cubic β-t In N/Ga N/Mg O samples exhibit a high signal to noise ratio for Pl at low temperatures (20 K). The Pl is centered at O.75 eV and persist at room temperature. (Author)

  9. Dielectric properties and microstructural characterization of cubic pyrochlored bismuth magnesium niobates

    KAUST Repository

    Zhang, Yuan

    2013-08-06

    Cubic bismuth pyrochlores in the Bi2O3 Bi 2O3-MgO-Nb2O5 Nb2O 5 system have been investigated as promising dielectric materials due to their high dielectric constant and low dielectric loss. Here, we report on the dielectric properties and microstructures of cubic pyrochlored Bi 1.5 MgNb 1.5 O 7 Bi1.5MgNb1.5O7 (BMN) ceramic samples synthesized via solid-state reactions. The dielectric constant (measured at 1 MHz) was measured to be ∼ 120 ∼120 at room temperature, and the dielectric loss was as low as 0.001. X-ray diffraction patterns demonstrated that the BMN samples had a cubic pyrochlored structure, which was also confirmed by selected area electron diffraction (SAED) patterns. Raman spectrum revealed more than six vibrational models predicted for the ideal pyrochlore structure, indicating additional atomic displacements of the A and O′ O\\' sites from the ideal atomic positions in the BMN samples. Structural modulations of the pyrochlore structure along the [110] and [121] directions were observed in SAED patterns and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) images. In addition, HR-TEM images also revealed that the grain boundaries (GBs) in the BMN samples were much clean, and no segregation or impure phase was observed forming at GBs. The high dielectric constants in the BMN samples were ascribed to the long-range ordered pyrochlore structures since the electric dipoles formed at the superstructural direction could be enhanced. The low dielectric loss was attributed to the existence of noncontaminated GBs in the BMN ceramics. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

  10. Preparative-scale separation of C60 and C70 on polystyrene gel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guegel, A.; Becker, M.; Hammel, D.; Mindach, L.; Raeder, J.; Simon, T.; Wagner, M.; Muellen, K.

    1992-01-01

    Five grams of a mixture of C 60 /C 70 can be separated in 24 hours by gel permeation chromatography on polystyrene gel. The mobile phase can be completely recovered, and the method can be scaled up by a simple increase in the inner diameter of the column. (orig.) [de

  11. Porous Aromatic Framework 48/Gel Hybrid Material Coated Solid-Phase Microextraction Fiber for the Determination of the Migration of Styrene from Polystyrene Food Contact Materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jin, Yuanyuan; Li, Zhongyue; Yang, Lei; Xu, Jun; Zhao, Le; Li, Zhonghao; Niu, Jiajia

    2017-01-17

    A novel solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fiber was fabricated by a porous aromatic framework 48 (PAF-48)/gel hybrid material through a sol-gel process. PAF-48 is a porous organic framework (POF) material that was polymerized from 1,3,5-triphenylbenzene. The uniform pore structure, high surface area, continuous conjugate network, and hydrophobicity make PAF-48 expected to have special abilities to absorb and extract styrene as well as some other harmful volatile aromatic compounds (VACs). The PAF-48/gel-coated fiber was explored for the extraction of styrene and six VACs (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes) from aqueous food simulants followed by gas chromatography (GC) separation. The fiber was found to be very sensitive for the determination of the target molecules with wide linear ranges (0.1-200 or 500 μg·kg -1 ), low limits of detection (LODs, 0.003-0.060 μg·kg -1 ), acceptable precisions (intraday relative standard deviation, RSD 200 times). Particularly for styrene, the PAF-48/gel-coated fiber exhibited a much lower LOD (0.006 μg·kg -1 ) compared with most of the reported fibers. Moreover, the PAF-48/gel-coated fiber had a high extraction selectivity for styrene and VACs over alcohols, phenols, aromatic amines, and alkanes and show a molecular sieving effect for the different molecule sizes. Finally, the PAF-48/gel-coated SPME fiber was successfully applied in GC for the determination of the specific migrations of styrene and VACs from polystyrene (PS) plastic food contact materials (FCMs).

  12. Dynamic Displacement Disorder of Cubic BaTiO3

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paściak, M.; Welberry, T. R.; Kulda, J.; Leoni, S.; Hlinka, J.

    2018-04-01

    The three-dimensional distribution of the x-ray diffuse scattering intensity of BaTiO3 has been recorded in a synchrotron experiment and simultaneously computed using molecular dynamics simulations of a shell model. Together, these have allowed the details of the disorder in paraelectric BaTiO3 to be clarified. The narrow sheets of diffuse scattering, related to the famous anisotropic longitudinal correlations of Ti ions, are shown to be caused by the overdamped anharmonic soft phonon branch. This finding demonstrates that the occurrence of narrow sheets of diffuse scattering agrees with a displacive picture of the cubic phase of this textbook ferroelectric material. The presented methodology allows one to go beyond the harmonic approximation in the analysis of phonons and phonon-related scattering.

  13. Synthesis, structural investigation and magnetic properties of Zn{sup 2+} substituted cobalt ferrite nanoparticles prepared by the sol–gel auto-combustion technique

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Raut, A.V., E-mail: nano9993@gmail.com [Vivekanand Arts and Sardar Dalipsingh Commerce and Science College, Aurangabad, 431004 Maharastra (India); Barkule, R.S.; Shengule, D.R. [Vivekanand Arts and Sardar Dalipsingh Commerce and Science College, Aurangabad, 431004 Maharastra (India); Jadhav, K.M., E-mail: drjadhavkm@gmail.com [Department of Physics, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad, 431004 Maharastra (India)

    2014-05-01

    Structural morphology and magnetic properties of the Co{sub 1−x}Zn{sub x}Fe{sub 2}O{sub 4} (0.0≤x≥1.0) spinel ferrite system synthesized by the sol–gel auto-combustion technique using nitrates of respective metal ions have been studied. The ratio of metal nitrates to citric acid was taken at 1:3. The as prepared powder of cobalt zinc ferrite was sintered at 600 °C for 12 h after TG/DTA thermal studies. Compositional stoichiometry was confirmed by energy dispersive analysis of the X-ray (EDAX) technique. Single phase cubic spinel structure of Co–Zn nanoparticles was confirmed by XRD data. The average crystallite size (t), lattice constant (a) and other structural parameters of zinc substituted cobalt ferrite nanoparticles were calculated from XRD followed by SEM and FTIR. It is observed that the sol–gel auto-combustion technique has many advantages for the synthesis of technologically applicable Co–Zn ferrite nanoparticles. The present investigation clearly shows the effect of the synthesis method and possible relation between magnetic properties and microstructure of the prepared samples. Increase in nonmagnetic Zn{sup 2+} content in cobalt ferrite nanoparticles is followed by decrease in n{sub B}, M{sub s} and other magnetic parameters. Squareness ratio for the Co-ferrite was 1.096 at room temperature. - Highlights: • Co–Zn nanoparticles are prepared by sol–gel auto-combustion method. • Structural properties were characterized by XRD, SEM, and FTIR. • Compositional stoichiometry was confirmed by EDAX analysis. • Magnetic parameters were measured by the pulse field hysteresis loop technique.

  14. RhCd{sub 9+δ} (-1.18 ≤δ≤0.29) a γ-brass related cubic giant cell structure

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jana, Partha Pratim [Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (India). Dept. of Chemistry

    2017-09-01

    The compound RhCd{sub 9+δ} (-1.18 ≤δ≤0.29) has been synthesized and the average structure has been analyzed by single crystal X-ray diffraction. The average structure crystallizes in the face centered cubic space group F43m (216) and contains ∝405 atoms/unit cell. It represents a (2a{sub γ}){sup 3}-superstructure of cubic γ-brass and is isostructural to Rh{sub 7-x}Mg{sub 44+x}. The comparison between the structures of RhCd{sub 9+δ} and Rh{sub 7-x}Mg{sub 44+x} has been presented using a layer description. The structure of the title phase has also been described by a ''cluster'' concept. The electronic structure of RhCd{sub 9+δ} (-1.18 ≤δ≤0.29) shows that the phase is stabilized by a Hume-Rothery mechanism.

  15. Highly dispersed spherical Bi3.25La0.75Ti3O12 nanocrystals via topotactic crystallization of aggregation-free gel particles from an effective inverse miniemulsion sol–gel approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Aijun; Zeng, Yanwei; Han, Longxiang; Ding, Chuan; Cao, Liangliang; Li, Rongjie

    2015-01-01

    Aggregation-free spherical lanthanum-doped bismuth titanate (Bi 3.25 La 0.75 Ti 3 O 12 , BLT) gel particles with an average size of about 150 nm were successfully obtained from an inverse miniemulsion sol–gel process, with Span-80 acting as surfactant, n-butanol as co-surfactant, cyclohexane as continuous phase, and submicro-droplets of aqueous solution containing Bi 3+ , La 3+ and Ti 4+ ions as dispersed phase, and then topotactically transformed into highly dispersed spherical BLT nanocrystals after an in situ crystallization at 600 °C for 8 h. It has been found that the BLT gel particles can be obtained via a moderate sol–gel reaction inside the miniemulsion droplets at 65 °C, but their morphology and aggregation degree are strongly affected by the relative amounts of Span-80 and n-butanol. The perfect spherical BLT gel particles with no aggregation can be achieved only under the condition of 3 wt% n-butanol relative to the mass of cyclohexane, with excessive amount of n-butanol leading to the formation of ill-gelled particles with irregular shapes, while insufficient addition of n-butanol resulting in terrible aggregation of gel particles. To understand the formation of aggregation-free spherical BLT gel particles, a tentative mechanism is proposed and discussed, which reveals that a well-coordinated oil–water interfacial film made up of Span-80 and n-butanol molecules and the appropriately enhanced evaporation of water from such interfaces should be responsible for the formation of aggregation-free spherical BLT gel particles. Graphical Abstract: Aggregation-free spherical BLT (Bi 3.25 La 0.75 Ti 3 O 12 ) gel particles can be prepared from an effective inverse miniemulsion sol–gel process, and subsequently topotactically transformed into spherical BLT nanocrystals through an in situ crystallization

  16. Deformation of the cubic open string field theory

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Taejin, E-mail: taejin@kangwon.ac.kr

    2017-05-10

    We study a consistent deformation of the cubic open bosonic string theory in such a way that the non-planar world sheet diagrams of the perturbative string theory are mapped onto their equivalent planar diagrams of the light-cone string field theory with some length parameters fixed. An explicit evaluation of the cubic string vertex in the zero-slope limit yields the correct relationship between the string coupling constant and the Yang–Mills coupling constant. The deformed cubic open string field theory is shown to produce the non-Abelian Yang–Mills action in the zero-slope limit if it is defined on multiple D-branes. Applying the consistent deformation systematically to multi-string world sheet diagrams, we may be able to calculate scattering amplitudes with an arbitrary number of external open strings.

  17. Deformation of the cubic open string field theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Taejin

    2017-01-01

    We study a consistent deformation of the cubic open bosonic string theory in such a way that the non-planar world sheet diagrams of the perturbative string theory are mapped onto their equivalent planar diagrams of the light-cone string field theory with some length parameters fixed. An explicit evaluation of the cubic string vertex in the zero-slope limit yields the correct relationship between the string coupling constant and the Yang–Mills coupling constant. The deformed cubic open string field theory is shown to produce the non-Abelian Yang–Mills action in the zero-slope limit if it is defined on multiple D-branes. Applying the consistent deformation systematically to multi-string world sheet diagrams, we may be able to calculate scattering amplitudes with an arbitrary number of external open strings.

  18. Deformation of the cubic open string field theory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Taejin Lee

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available We study a consistent deformation of the cubic open bosonic string theory in such a way that the non-planar world sheet diagrams of the perturbative string theory are mapped onto their equivalent planar diagrams of the light-cone string field theory with some length parameters fixed. An explicit evaluation of the cubic string vertex in the zero-slope limit yields the correct relationship between the string coupling constant and the Yang–Mills coupling constant. The deformed cubic open string field theory is shown to produce the non-Abelian Yang–Mills action in the zero-slope limit if it is defined on multiple D-branes. Applying the consistent deformation systematically to multi-string world sheet diagrams, we may be able to calculate scattering amplitudes with an arbitrary number of external open strings.

  19. Precursor phenomena at the magnetic ordering of the cubic helimagnet FeGe

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Baenitz, Michael; Schmidt, Marcus [MPI CPfS, Dresden (Germany); Wilhelm, Heribert [Diamond Light Source Ltd., Chilton (United Kingdom); Roessler, Ulrich K.; Bogdanov, Alexei N.; Leonov, Andrey A. [IFW Dresden (Germany)

    2011-07-01

    We report on detailed magnetic measurements on the cubic helimagnet FeGe in external magnetic fields parallel to the direction and temperatures in the vicinity of the onset of long-range magnetic order at T{sub c}{approx}278 K. Depending on the temperature and field, a helical state (Hphase (H{sub c1}phase were observed below H{sub c2} at which the field-polarized state occurs. Precursor phenomena found above T{sub c} display a complex succession of temperature-driven cross-overs and phase transitions. The A-phase pocket is split in at least two distinct areas, A{sub 1} and A{sub 2}. The area A{sub 1} at lower fields shows clear lines of transitions into the conical phase at lower temperature and into the A{sub 2} area at higher fields. The area A{sub 2} appears to transform continuously into the conical phase. Relying on a modified phenomenology for chiral magnets, the A{sub 1} phase could indicate existence of a +{pi} Skyrmion lattice, however, the A{sub 2} phase seems related to helicoids propagating in directions perpendicular to the applied field. We suggest that the observation of this A{sub 2}-phase can be explained by hexagonal arrays of spiral domains consisting essentially of helicoids.

  20. Structural and multiferroic properties of barium substituted bismuth ferrite nanocrystallites prepared by sol–gel method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anju; Agarwal, Ashish; Aghamkar, Praveen; Lal, Bhajan

    2017-01-01

    Nanocrystalline Bi 1-x Ba x FeO 3 (0≤x≤0.3) multiferroics were efficiently obtained by sol–gel method after sintering at 800 °C for one hour. The Ba substitution in BiFeO 3 (BFO) strongly modifies its structural and multiferroic properties. XRD studies revealed the structural transition from distorted rhombohedral (R3c) to pseudo-cubic (Pm3m) crystal symmetry. The magnetization increases appreciably for x=0.1, which is due to spin canting of magnetic moments at the nanoparticle surfaces and decreases afterward. From the temperature dependent magnetization studies, it is found that magnetic transition temperature (T N ) is 620 K for x=0 and 640 K for x=0.1. Besides, the maximum polarisation value decreases with increasing Ba content. SEM micrographs revealed the formation of cubic nanocrystallites with increased porosity on Ba substitution. FTIR analysis of the samples also supports the structural change towards increased crystal symmetry. - Highlights: • XRD studies revealed the structural transition from distorted rhombohedral (R3c) to pseudo-cubic (Pm3m) crystal symmetry. • The magnetization increases appreciably for x=0.1 and decreases afterward for higher Ba content. • Magnetic transition temperature (T N ) is found to be 620 K for x=0 and 640 K for x=0.1. • Maximum polarisation value is highest for x=0.1.

  1. Preparation of UO2 dense spherical particles by sol-gel technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Urbanek, V.; Dolezal, J.

    1977-01-01

    The results of the basic research and development of processes of preparation of dense UO 2 spherical particles by sol-gel technique are presented. Attention was paid to the study of chemistry of internal gelation step in the uranylnitrate-urea-hexamethylentetramine system. The existence regions of several stable gels with different properties were established in connection with variable ratio of basic gel's components and the appropriate ''Phase diagrams'' were drawn. From these diagrams, two of the most interesting types of uranyl gels were chosen for the subsequent thermal processing which included drying, reduction and sintering. The detailed studies of each step of the whole process enabled preparation of UO 2 dense spheres with well defined microstructure

  2. The crystal structure and phase transitions of the magnetic shape memory compound Ni2MnGa

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brown, P J; Crangle, J; Kanomata, T; Matsumoto, M; Neumann, K-U; Ouladdiaf, B; Ziebeck, K R A

    2002-01-01

    High resolution neutron powder diffraction and single crystal measurements on the ferromagnetic shape memory compound Ni 2 MnGa have been carried out. They enabled the sequence of transformations which take place when the unstressed, stoichiometric compound is cooled from 400 to 20 K to be established. For the first time the crystallographic structure of each of the phases which occur has been determined. At 400 K the compound has the cubic L2 1 structure, and orders ferromagnetically at T C ∼ 365 K. On cooling below ∼ 260 K a super-structure, characterized by tripling of the repeat in one of the (110) cubic directions, forms. This phase, known as the pre-martensitic phase, persists down to the structural phase transition at T M ∼ 200 K and can be described by an orthorhombic unit cell with lattice parameters a ortho = 1/√2a cubic , b ortho = 3/√2a cubic , c ortho = a cubic and space group Pnnm. Below T M the compound has a related orthorhombic super-cell with b ortho ∼ 7/√2a cubic , which can be described within the same space group. The new modulation appears abruptly at T M and remains stable down to at least 20 K

  3. Engineering phase transformation of cobalt selenide in carbon cages and the phases’ bifunctional electrocatalytic activity for water splitting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Jiaojiao; Liu, Li; Qiu, Hua-Jun; Wang, Yu

    2017-08-01

    Using Co-based metal-organic frameworks as the precursor, we synthesized cobalt selenide (CoSe2) nanoparticles imbedded in carbon cages. By simply controlling the annealing conditions, phase transformation of CoSe2 from the orthorhombic phase to the cubic phase has been realized. Benefitting from the metallic character, the cubic phase CoSe2 shows greatly enhanced electrocatalytic activity for both the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The as-prepared cubic phase CoSe2 electrode possesses onset overpotentials of 43 and 200 mV, and Tafel slopes of 51 and 83 mV dec-1 for HER and OER, respectively, which are remarkably superior to that of the orthorhombic phase CoSe2 catalyst and comparable to those of commercial noble-metal catalysts. In addition, the cubic phase CoSe2 electrode also demonstrates excellent stability after long-term operations. Our work not only provides a high performance catalyst for water splitting, but also introduces a new route to the design of a highly efficient catalyst by phase transformation.

  4. The C-S-H gel of Portland cement mortars: Part I. The interpretation of energy-dispersive X-ray microanalyses from scanning electron microscopy, with some observations on C-S-H, AFm and AFt phase compositions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Famy, C.; Brough, A.R.; Taylor, H.F.W.

    2003-01-01

    Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) microanalyses of the calcium-silicate-hydrate (C-S-H) gel in Portland cement pastes rarely represent single phases. Essential experimental requirements are summarised and new procedures for interpreting the data are described. These include, notably, plots of Si/Ca against other atom ratios, 3D plots to allow three such ratios to be correlated and solution of linear simultaneous equations to test and quantify hypotheses regarding the phases contributing to individual microanalyses. Application of these methods to the C-S-H gel of a 1-day-old mortar identified a phase with Al/Ca=0.67 and S/Ca=0.33, which we consider to be a highly substituted ettringite of probable composition C 6 A 2 S-bar 2 H 34 or {Ca 6 [Al(OH) 6 ] 2 ·24H 2 O}(SO 4 ) 2 [Al(OH) 4 ] 2 . If this is true for Portland cements in general, it might explain observed discrepancies between observed and calculated aluminate concentrations in the pore solution. The C-S-H gel of a similar mortar aged 600 days contained unsubstituted ettringite and an AFm phase with S/Ca=0.125

  5. Highly dispersed spherical Bi3.25La0.75Ti3O12 nanocrystals via topotactic crystallization of aggregation-free gel particles from an effective inverse miniemulsion sol-gel approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Aijun; Zeng, Yanwei; Han, Longxiang; Ding, Chuan; Cao, Liangliang; Li, Rongjie

    2015-09-01

    Aggregation-free spherical lanthanum-doped bismuth titanate (Bi3.25La0.75Ti3O12, BLT) gel particles with an average size of about 150 nm were successfully obtained from an inverse miniemulsion sol-gel process, with Span-80 acting as surfactant, n-butanol as co-surfactant, cyclohexane as continuous phase, and submicro-droplets of aqueous solution containing Bi3+, La3+ and Ti4+ ions as dispersed phase, and then topotactically transformed into highly dispersed spherical BLT nanocrystals after an in situ crystallization at 600 °C for 8 h. It has been found that the BLT gel particles can be obtained via a moderate sol-gel reaction inside the miniemulsion droplets at 65 °C, but their morphology and aggregation degree are strongly affected by the relative amounts of Span-80 and n-butanol. The perfect spherical BLT gel particles with no aggregation can be achieved only under the condition of 3 wt% n-butanol relative to the mass of cyclohexane, with excessive amount of n-butanol leading to the formation of ill-gelled particles with irregular shapes, while insufficient addition of n-butanol resulting in terrible aggregation of gel particles. To understand the formation of aggregation-free spherical BLT gel particles, a tentative mechanism is proposed and discussed, which reveals that a well-coordinated oil-water interfacial film made up of Span-80 and n-butanol molecules and the appropriately enhanced evaporation of water from such interfaces should be responsible for the formation of aggregation-free spherical BLT gel particles.

  6. Topological Oxide Insulator in Cubic Perovskite Structure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jin, Hosub; Rhim, Sonny H.; Im, Jino; Freeman, Arthur J.

    2013-01-01

    The emergence of topologically protected conducting states with the chiral spin texture is the most prominent feature at the surface of topological insulators. On the application side, large band gap and high resistivity to distinguish surface from bulk degrees of freedom should be guaranteed for the full usage of the surface states. Here, we suggest that the oxide cubic perovskite YBiO3, more than just an oxide, defines itself as a new three-dimensional topological insulator exhibiting both a large bulk band gap and a high resistivity. Based on first-principles calculations varying the spin-orbit coupling strength, the non-trivial band topology of YBiO3 is investigated, where the spin-orbit coupling of the Bi 6p orbital plays a crucial role. Taking the exquisite synthesis techniques in oxide electronics into account, YBiO3 can also be used to provide various interface configurations hosting exotic topological phenomena combined with other quantum phases. PMID:23575973

  7. Quantitative phase analysis and microstructure characterization of magnetite nanocrystals obtained by microwave assisted non-hydrolytic sol–gel synthesis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sciancalepore, Corrado, E-mail: corrado.sciancalepore@unimore.it [Department of Engineering “Enzo Ferrari”, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Pietro Vivarelli 10, 41100 Modena (Italy); Bondioli, Federica [Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Parma, Parco Area delle Scienze, 181/A, 43124 Parma (Italy); INSTM Consortium, Via G. Giusti 9, 51121 Firenze (Italy); Manfredini, Tiziano [Department of Engineering “Enzo Ferrari”, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Pietro Vivarelli 10, 41100 Modena (Italy); INSTM Consortium, Via G. Giusti 9, 51121 Firenze (Italy); Gualtieri, Alessandro [Department of Chemical and Geological Science, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via S. Eufemia 19, 41121 Modena Italy (Italy)

    2015-02-15

    An innovative preparation procedure, based on microwave assisted non-hydrolytic sol–gel synthesis, to obtain spherical magnetite nanoparticles was reported together with a detailed quantitative phase analysis and microstructure characterization of the synthetic products. The nanoparticle growth was analyzed as a function of the synthesis time and was described in terms of crystallization degree employing the Rietveld method on the magnetic nanostructured system for the determination of the amorphous content using hematite as internal standard. Product crystallinity increases as the microwave thermal treatment is increased and reaches very high percentages for synthesis times longer than 1 h. Microstructural evolution of nanocrystals was followed by the integral breadth methods to obtain information on the crystallite size-strain distribution. The results of diffraction line profile analysis were compared with nanoparticle grain distribution estimated by dimensional analysis of the transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images. A variation both in the average grain size and in the distribution of the coherently diffraction domains is evidenced, allowing to suppose a relationship between the two quantities. The traditional integral breadth methods have proven to be valid for a rapid assessment of the diffraction line broadening effects in the above-mentioned nanostructured systems and the basic assumption for the correct use of these methods are discussed as well. - Highlights: • Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4} nanocrystals were obtained by MW-assisted non-hydrolytic sol–gel synthesis. • Quantitative phase analysis revealed that crystallinity up to 95% was reached. • The strategy of Rietveld refinements was discussed in details. • Dimensional analysis showed nanoparticles ranging from 4 to 8 nm. • Results of integral breadth methods were compared with microscopic analysis.

  8. Quantitative phase analysis and microstructure characterization of magnetite nanocrystals obtained by microwave assisted non-hydrolytic sol–gel synthesis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sciancalepore, Corrado; Bondioli, Federica; Manfredini, Tiziano; Gualtieri, Alessandro

    2015-01-01

    An innovative preparation procedure, based on microwave assisted non-hydrolytic sol–gel synthesis, to obtain spherical magnetite nanoparticles was reported together with a detailed quantitative phase analysis and microstructure characterization of the synthetic products. The nanoparticle growth was analyzed as a function of the synthesis time and was described in terms of crystallization degree employing the Rietveld method on the magnetic nanostructured system for the determination of the amorphous content using hematite as internal standard. Product crystallinity increases as the microwave thermal treatment is increased and reaches very high percentages for synthesis times longer than 1 h. Microstructural evolution of nanocrystals was followed by the integral breadth methods to obtain information on the crystallite size-strain distribution. The results of diffraction line profile analysis were compared with nanoparticle grain distribution estimated by dimensional analysis of the transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images. A variation both in the average grain size and in the distribution of the coherently diffraction domains is evidenced, allowing to suppose a relationship between the two quantities. The traditional integral breadth methods have proven to be valid for a rapid assessment of the diffraction line broadening effects in the above-mentioned nanostructured systems and the basic assumption for the correct use of these methods are discussed as well. - Highlights: • Fe 3 O 4 nanocrystals were obtained by MW-assisted non-hydrolytic sol–gel synthesis. • Quantitative phase analysis revealed that crystallinity up to 95% was reached. • The strategy of Rietveld refinements was discussed in details. • Dimensional analysis showed nanoparticles ranging from 4 to 8 nm. • Results of integral breadth methods were compared with microscopic analysis

  9. Scattering of quantized solitary waves in the cubic Schrodinger equation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dolan, L.

    1976-01-01

    The quantum mechanics for N particles interacting via a delta-function potential in one space dimension and one time dimension is known. The second-quantized description of this system has for its Euler-Lagrange equations of motion the cubic Schrodinger equation. This nonlinear differential equation supports solitary wave solutions. A quantization of these solitons reproduces the weak-coupling limit to the known quantum mechanics. The phase shift for two-body scattering and the energy of the N-body bound state is derived in this approximation. The nonlinear Schrodinger equation is contrasted with the sine-Gordon theory in respect to the ideas which the classical solutions play in the description of the quantum states

  10. Polymer and Polymer Gel of Liquid Crystalline Semiconductors

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Teppei Shimakawa; Naoki Yoshimoto; Jun-ichi Hanna

    2004-01-01

    It prepared a polymer and polymer gel of a liquid crystalline (LC) semiconductor having a 2-phenylnaphthalene moiety and studied their charge carrier transport properties by the time-of-flight technique. It is found that polyacrylate having the mesogenic core moiety of 2-phenylnaphtalene (PNP-acrylate) exhibited a comparable mobility of 10-4cm2/Vs in smectic A phase to those in smectic A (SmA) phase of small molecular liquid crystals with the same core moiety, e.g., 6-(4'-octylphenyl)- 2-dodecyloxynaphthalene (8-PNP-O12), and an enhanced mobility up to 10-3cm2/Vs in the LC-glassy phase at room temperature, when mixed with a small amount of 8-PNP-O12. On the other hand, the polymer gel consisting of 20 wt %-hexamethylenediacrylate (HDA)-based cross-linked polymer and 8-PNP-O12 exhibited no degraded mobility when cross-linked at the mesophase. These results indicate that the polymer and polymer composite of liquid crystalline semiconductors provide us with an easy way to realize a quality organic semiconductor thin film for the immediate device applications.

  11. Shear response of Σ3{112} twin boundaries in face-centered-cubic metals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, J.; Misra, A.; Hirth, J. P.

    2011-02-01

    Molecular statics and dynamics simulations were used to study the mechanisms of sliding and migration of Σ3{112} incoherent twin boundaries (ITBs) under applied shear acting in the boundary in the face-centered-cubic (fcc) metals, Ag, Cu, Pd, and Al, of varying stacking fault energies. These studies revealed that (i) ITBs can dissociate into two phase boundaries (PBs), bounding the hexagonal 9R phase, that contain different arrays of partial dislocations; (ii) the separation distance between the two PBs scales inversely with increasing stacking fault energy; (iii) for fcc metals with low stacking fault energy, one of the two PBs migrates through the collective glide of partials, referred to as the phase-boundary-migration (PBM) mechanism; (iv) for metals with high stacking energy, ITBs experience a coupled motion (migration and sliding) through the glide of interface disconnections, referred to as the interface-disconnection-glide (IDG) mechanism.

  12. Novel microemulsion-based gel formulation of tazarotene for therapy of acne.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patel, Mrunali Rashmin; Patel, Rashmin Bharatbhai; Parikh, Jolly R; Patel, Bharat G

    2016-12-01

    The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate a novel microemulsion based gel formulation containing tazarotene for targeted topical therapy of acne. Psudoternary phase diagrams were constructed to obtain the concentration range of oil, surfactant, and co-surfactant for microemulsion formation. The optimized microemulsion formulation containing 0.05% tazarotene was formulated by spontaneous microemulsification method consisting of 10% Labrafac CC, mixed emulsifiers 15% Labrasol-Cremophor-RH 40 (1:1), 15% Capmul MCM, and 60% distilled water (w/w) as an external phase. All plain and tazarotene-loaded microemulsions were clear and showed physicochemical parameters for desired topical delivery and stability. The permeation profiles of tazarotene through rat skin from optimized microemulsion formulation followed the Higuchi model for controlled permeation. Microemulsion-based gel was prepared by incorporating Carbopol®971P NF in optimized microemulsion formulation having suitable skin permeation rate and skin uptake. Microemulsion-based gel showed desired physicochemical parameters and demonstrated advantage over marketed formulation in improving the skin tolerability of tazarotene indicating its potential in improving its topical delivery. The developed microemulsion-based gel may be a potential drug delivery vehicle for targeted topical delivery of tazarotene in the treatment of acne.

  13. Efficient and Stable Photovoltaic Characteristics of Quasi-Solid State DSSC using Polymer Gel Electrolyte Based on Ionic Liquid in Organosiloxane Polymer Gels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pujiarti, H.; Arsyad, W. S.; Shobih; Muliani, L.; Hidayat, R.

    2018-04-01

    Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell (DSSC) is still one of the promising solar cell types among the third generation of solar cells because of easiness of fabrication and variety of available materials. In this type of solar cell, the electrolyte is one of the important components for regenerating excited dyes and transporting electric charge carriers to the counter electrode. Indeed, the power conversion efficiency of DSSC can be then significantly affected by the chemical and physical properties of the electrolyte. The simplest electrolyte system of an I-/I3 - redox couple in an organic solvent, however, has some drawbacks due to corrosive properties, volatile and leakage problem. Use of solid phase or gel phase electrolyte may overcome those problems, but it is often considered to suppress the efficiency due to low ion diffusion. Here, we report the photovoltaic characteristics of DSSC using polymer gel electrolyte (PGE), which is composed of ionic liquid and an organosiloxane polymer gel. The better cell performance with power conversion efficiency of about 6% has been obtained by optimizing the mesoporous size of the TiO2 layer and the PGE viscosity.

  14. d and f electrons in a qp-quantized cubical field

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kibler, M.; Sztucki, J.

    1993-03-01

    A procedure for qp-quantizing a crystal-field potential V with an arbitrary symmetry G is developed. Such a procedure is applied to the case where V involves cubic components (G=0) of the degrees 4 and 6. This case corresponds to d and f electrons in a qp-quantized cubical potential. It is shown that the qp-quantization of the considered cubical potential is equivalent to a symmetry breaking of type O→D 4 . A general conjecture about this symmetry breaking phenomenon is given. (author) 21 refs

  15. Defect ordering in aliovalently doped cubic zirconia from first principles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bogicevic, A.; Wolverton, C.; Crosbie, G.M.; Stechel, E.B.

    2001-01-01

    Defect ordering in aliovalently doped cubic-stabilized zirconia is studied using gradient corrected density-functional calculations. Intra- and intersublattice ordering interactions are investigated for both cation (Zr and dopant ions) and anion (oxygen ions and vacancies) species. For yttria-stabilized zirconia, the crystal structure of the experimentally identified, ordered compound δ-Zr 3 Y 4 O 12 is established, and we predict metastable zirconia-rich ordered phases. Anion vacancies repel each other at short separations, but show an energetic tendency to align as third-nearest neighbors along directions. Calculations with divalent (Be, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba) and trivalent (Y, Sc, B, Al, Ga, In) oxides show that anion vacancies prefer to be close to the smaller of the cations (Zr or dopant ion). When the dopant cation is close in size to Zr, the vacancies show no particular preference, and are thus less prone to be bound preferentially to any particular cation type when the vacancies traverse such oxides. This ordering tendency offers insight into the observed high conductivity of Y 2 O 3 - and Sc 2 O 3 -stabilized zirconia, as well as recent results using, e.g., lanthanide oxides. The calculations point to In 2 O 3 as a particularly promising stabilizer for high ionic conductivity. Thus we are able to directly link (thermodynamic) defect ordering to (kinetic) ionic conductivity in cubic-stabilized zirconia using first-principles atomistic calculations

  16. Effect of superconductivity on the cubic to tetragonal structural transition due to a two-fold degenerate electronic band

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ghatak, S.K.; Khanra, B.C.; Ray, D.K.

    1978-01-01

    The effect of the BCS superconductivity on the cubic to tetragonal structural transition arising from a two-fold degenerate electronic band is investigated within the mean field approximation. The phase diagram of the two transitions is given for a half filled esub(g)-band. Modification of the two transitions when they are close together is also discussed. (author)

  17. Amperometric detector for gas chromatography based on a silica sol-gel solid electrolyte.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steinecker, William H; Miecznikowski, Krzysztof; Kulesza, Pawel J; Sandlin, Zechariah D; Cox, James A

    2017-11-01

    An electrochemical cell comprising a silica sol-gel solid electrolyte, a working electrode that protrudes into a gas phase, and reference and counter electrodes that contact the solid electrolyte comprises an amperometric detector for gas chromatography. Under potentiostatic conditions, a current related to the concentration of an analyte in the gas phase is produced by its oxidation at the three-phase boundary among the sol-gel, working electrode, and the gas phase. The sol-gel is processed to contain an electrolyte that also serves as a humidistat to maintain a constant water activity even in the presence the gas chromatographic mobile phase. Response was demonstrated toward a diverse set of analytes, namely hydrogen, 1,2-ethandithiol, phenol, p-cresol, and thioanisole. Using flow injection amperometry of hydrogen with He as the carrier gas, 90% of the steady-state current was achieved in < 1s at a flow rate of 20mLmin -1 . A separation of 1,2-ethandithiol, phenol, p-cresol, and thioanisole at a 2.2mLmin -1 flow rate was achieved with respective detection limits (k = 3 criterion) of 4, 1, 3, and 70 ppmv when the working electrode potential was 800mV. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Sol-gel Process in Preparation of Organic-inorganic Hybrid Materials

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Macan, J

    2008-07-01

    Full Text Available Organic-inorganic hybrid materials are a sort of nanostructured material in which the organic and inorganic phases are mixed at molecular level. The inorganic phase in hybrid materials is formed by the sol-gel process, which consists of reactions of hydrolysis and condensation of metal (usually silicon alkoxides. Flexibility of sol-gel process enables creation of hybrid materials with varying organic and inorganic phases in different ratios, and consequently fine-tuning of their properties. In order to obtain true hybrid materials, contact between the phases should be at molecular level, so phase separation between thermodynamically incompatible organic and inorganic phases has to be prevented. Phase interaction can be improved by formation of hydrogen or covalent bonds between them during preparation of hybrid materials. Covalent bond can be introduced by organically modified silicon alkoxides containing a reactive organic group (substituent capable of reacting with the organic phase. In order to obtain hybrid materials with desired structures, a detailed knowledge of hydrolysis and condensation mechanism is necessary. The choice of catalyst, whether acid or base, has the most significant influence on the structure of the inorganic phase. Other important parameters are alkoxide concentration, water: alkoxide ratio, type of alkoxide groups, solvent used, temperature, purity of chemicals used, etc. Hydrolysis and condensation of organically modified silicon alkoxides are additionally influenced by nature and size of the organic supstituent.

  19. Preparation and characterization of bismuth ruthenate pyrochlore via solid state reaction and sol-gel methods

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mayuree Sansernnivet

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Bismuth ruthenate pyrochlores, potential cathode materials for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells(ITSOFCs, were prepared via solid-state and sol-gel method. Effects of the preparation routes and conditions on the phase and microstructures of the materials were investigated in this study using XRD and SEM. The study showed that the preparation method and the adding sequence of the starting meterials have a significant effect on the crystal phase and the particle size obtained. Sol-gel synthesis could yield a material with only pyrochlore structure, i.e. Bi2Ru2O7, while the solid state method yielded powder with a small amount of the secondary RuO2 phase. The sol-gel synthesis resulted in materialswith a finer particle size (~0.3-1.0 μm compared to powder synthesized via the solid state reaction method.

  20. Contribution to the study of thorium phosphate gels and xerogels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iroulart, M.G.

    1989-01-01

    The physico-chemical and optical properties of transparent thorium phosphate gels and xerogels are studied. The gels are obtained by mixing 3/4 or 1/1 parts of Th (NO 3 ) 4 (or Th Cl 4 ) and H 3 PO 4 (from 0.02 to 0.2 M) water solutions of 0.5 to 1 pH. Xerogels are obtained by a liquid phase drying at 50C. The 31 P and 1 H NMR, the Raman and EXAFS experiments are performed. The gel structural model is proposed: inorganic polymers from [Th (OH) 2 PO 4 H 2 (H 2 O 8 ] 2 2+ dimers. Xerogel is a transparent material having a wide optical window, which allows applications in ions detection. The X ray experiments on 4 hours heated xerogels, at different temperatures, showed the amorphe-crystal transition at 300C. A Th 3 (PO 4 ) 4 crystallized phase is obtained by xerogel heating at 850C, during 72 hours. It is a new synthesis method to obtain such a compound from an amorphous material [fr

  1. Solution-mediated growth of NBA-ZSM-5 crystals retarded by gel entrapment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aguilar-Mamani, Wilson; Akhtar, Farid; Hedlund, Jonas; Mouzon, Johanne

    2018-04-01

    The synthesis of flat tablet-shaped ZSM-5 crystals from a gel using metakaolin as aluminosilicate source and n-butyl amine as structure directing agent was investigated. The evolution inside the solid phase was characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, thermogravimetry and mass spectrometry. A kinetic study indicated that the nucleation of the majority crystals occurred concurrently with the formation of the gel upon heating the starting liquid suspension. Microstructural evidences undeniably showed that the gel precipitated on ZSM-5 crystals and mineral impurities originating from kaolin. As a result, crystal growth was retarded by gel entrapment, as indicated by the configuration and morphology of the embedded crystals. The results presented herein are harmonized with a solution-mediated nucleation and growth mechanism. Our observations differ from the autocatalytic model that suggests that the nuclei rest inside the gel until released when the gel is consumed. Our results show instead that it is crystals that formed in an early stage before entrapment inside the gel that rest inside the gel until exposed at the gel surface. These results illustrate the limitation of the classical method used in the field to determine nucleation profiles when the crystals become trapped inside the gel.

  2. Thermosetting gels with modulated gelation temperature for ophthalmic use: the rheological and gamma scintigraphic studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Gang; Xu, Hui; Ding, Ping Tian; Li, San Ming; Zheng, Jun Min

    2002-09-18

    For ophthalmic drug delivery, Pluronic F127 solutions have a phase transition temperature too low for them to be instilled into the eye at room temperature. Refrigerator storage is usually required to make administration easier, whereas the potential irritation of cold to the sensitive ocular tissues may result in poor topical bioavailability. The purpose of this study is to develop a thermosetting gel with a suitable phase transition temperature by combining Pluronic analogs and to examine the influence of incorporating mucoadhesive polysaccharide, sodium hyaluronate (HA-Na), on the ocular retention of the gel. Dynamic rheological method and single photon emission computing tomography (SPECT) technique were used to ex/in vivo evaluate the thermosetting gels, respectively. An optimized formulation containing 21% F127 and 10% F68 increased the phase transition temperature by 9 degrees C as evaluated by elasticity modulus compared to that of individual 21% F127 solution. Rheological behaviors of the Pluronic solutions showed that the combined Pluronic formulation was free flowing liquid below 25 degrees C and converted to a firm gel under the physiological condition. Furthermore, this formulation possessed the highest viscosity both before and after tear dilution at 35 degrees C. Gamma scintigraphic data demonstrated that the clearance of the thermosetting gel labeled with 99mTc-DTPA was significantly delayed with respect to the phosphate buffered solution, and at least a threefold increase of the corneal residence time was achieved. However, no further improvement in the ocular retention was observed when adding HA-Na into the thermosetting gel due to the substantially decreased gel strength. Copyright 2002 Elsevier Science B.V.

  3. Preparation of poly(acrylonitrile-butyl acrylate) gel electrolyte for lithium-ion batteries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tian Zheng; He Xiangming; Pu Weihua; Wan Chunrong; Jiang Changyin

    2006-01-01

    Poly(acrylonitrile-butyl acrylate) gel polymer electrolyte was prepared for lithium ion batteries. The preparation started with synthesis of poly(acrylonitrile-butyl acrylate) by radical emulsion polymerization, followed by phase inversion to produce microporous membrane. Then, the microporous gel polymer electrolytes (MGPEs) was prepared with the microporous membrane and LiPF 6 in ethylene carbonate/diethyl carbonate. The dry microporous membrane showed a fracture strength as high as 18.98 MPa. As-prepared gel polymer electrolytes presented ionic conductivity in excess of 3.0 x 10 -3 S cm -1 at ambient temperature and a decomposition voltage over 6.6 V. The results showed that the as-prepared gel polymer electrolytes were promising materials for Li-ion batteries

  4. Minimal knotted polygons in cubic lattices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van Rensburg, E J Janse; Rechnitzer, A

    2011-01-01

    In this paper we examine numerically the properties of minimal length knotted lattice polygons in the simple cubic, face-centered cubic, and body-centered cubic lattices by sieving minimal length polygons from a data stream of a Monte Carlo algorithm, implemented as described in Aragão de Carvalho and Caracciolo (1983 Phys. Rev. B 27 1635), Aragão de Carvalho et al (1983 Nucl. Phys. B 215 209) and Berg and Foester (1981 Phys. Lett. B 106 323). The entropy, mean writhe, and mean curvature of minimal length polygons are computed (in some cases exactly). While the minimal length and mean curvature are found to be lattice dependent, the mean writhe is found to be only weakly dependent on the lattice type. Comparison of our results to numerical results for the writhe obtained elsewhere (see Janse van Rensburg et al 1999 Contributed to Ideal Knots (Series on Knots and Everything vol 19) ed Stasiak, Katritch and Kauffman (Singapore: World Scientific), Portillo et al 2011 J. Phys. A: Math. Theor. 44 275004) shows that the mean writhe is also insensitive to the length of a knotted polygon. Thus, while these results for the mean writhe and mean absolute writhe at minimal length are not universal, our results demonstrate that these values are quite close the those of long polygons regardless of the underlying lattice and length

  5. Kinetics of swelling of polyelectrolyte gels: Fixed degree of ionization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sen, Swati; Kundagrami, Arindam

    2015-12-01

    The swelling kinetics of uncharged and charged polymer (polyelectrolyte) gels in salt-free conditions is studied in one dimension by solving the constitutive equation of motion (Newton's law for the elementary gel volume) of the displacement variable by two theoretical methods: one in which the classical definition of stress is used with the bulk modulus taken as a parameter, and the other in which a phenomenological expression of the osmotic stress as a function of polymer density and degree of ionization is taken as an input to the dynamics. The time-evolution profiles for spatially varying polymer density and stress, along with the location of the gel-solvent interface, are obtained from the two methods. We show that both the polymer density (volume fraction) and stress inside the gel follow expected behaviours of being maximum for the uniformly shrunken gel, and relaxing slowly to the lowest values as the gel approaches equilibrium. We further show that, by comparing the temporal profiles of the gel-solvent interface and other variables between the two methods, one may attempt to assign an effective bulk modulus to the polyelectrolyte gel as a function of the degree of ionization and other parameters of the gel such as hydrophobicity, cross-link density, and the temperature. The major result we get is that the effective bulk modulus of a polyelectrolyte gel increases monotonically with its degree of ionization. In the process of identifying the parameters for a monotonic swelling, we calculated using a well-known expression of the free energy the equilibrium results of two-phase co-existence and the critical point of a polyelectrolyte gel with a fixed degree of ionization.

  6. Thermodynamics of face-centered-cubic silicon nucleation at the nanoscale from laser ablation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hu Shengliang; Li Wuhong; Liu Wei; Dong Yingge; Cao Shirui; Yang Jinlong

    2011-01-01

    The thermodynamic nucleation and the phase transition of the face-centered-cubic structure of Si (fcc-Si) on the nanoscale are performed by taking the effect of nanosize-induced additional pressure on the fcc-Si formation under the conditions generated by laser ablation in liquid into account. The thermodynamic analyses showed that the formation of fcc-Si nanocrystals with sizes of 2-6 nm would take place prior to that of large fcc-Si nanocrystals, and the phase transition probability from diamond-like structure Si (d-Si) to fcc-Si is rather high, up to 10 -3 -10 -2 , under the conditions created by laser ablation of an Si target in water. These theoretical results suggest that laser ablation in liquid would be an effective industrial route to prepare ultrasmall fcc-Si nanocrystals.

  7. Giant Hall Resistivity and Magnetoresistance in Cubic Chiral Antiferromagnet EuPtSi

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kakihana, Masashi; Aoki, Dai; Nakamura, Ai; Honda, Fuminori; Nakashima, Miho; Amako, Yasushi; Nakamura, Shota; Sakakibara, Toshiro; Hedo, Masato; Nakama, Takao; Ōnuki, Yoshichika

    2018-02-01

    EuPtSi crystallizes in the cubic chiral structure (P213, No. 198), which is the same as the non-centrosymmetric space group of MnSi with the skyrmion structure, and orders antiferromagnetically below a Néel temperature TN = 4.05 K. The magnetization at 2 K for the [111] direction indicates two metamagnetic transitions at the magnetic fields HA1 = 9.2 kOe and HA2 = 13.8 kOe and saturates above Hc = 26.6 kOe. The present magnetic phase between HA1 and HA2 is most likely closed in the (H,T) phase and is observed in a wide temperature range from 3.6 to 0.5 K. In this magnetic phase known as the A-phase, we found giant additional Hall resistivity ΔρH(H) and magnetoresistance Δρ(H), reaching ΔρH(H) = 0.12 µΩ·cm and Δρ(H) = 1.4 µΩ·cm, respectively. These findings are obtained for H || [111] and [100], but not for H || [110] and [112], revealing an anisotropic behavior in the new material EuPtSi.

  8. Plasma synthesis and HPHT consolidation of BN nanoparticles, nanospheres, and nanotubes to produce nanocrystalline cubic boron nitride

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stout, Christopher

    Plasma methods offer a variety of advantages to nanomaterials synthesis. The process is robust, allowing varying particle sizes and phases to be generated simply by modifying key parameters. The work here demonstrates a novel approach to nanopowder synthesis using inductively-coupled plasma to decompose precursor, which are then quenched to produce a variety of boron nitride (BN)-phase nanoparticles, including cubic phase, along with short-range-order nanospheres (e.g., nano-onions) and BN nanotubes. Cubic BN (c-BN) powders can be generated through direct deposition onto a chilled substrate. The extremely-high pyrolysis temperatures afforded by the equilibrium plasma offer a unique particle growth environment, accommodating long deposition times while exposing resulting powders to temperatures in excess of 5000K without any additional particle nucleation and growth. Such conditions can yield short-range ordered amorphous BN structures in the form of 20nm diameter nanospheres. Finally, when introducing a rapid-quenching counter-flow gas against the plasma jet, high aspect ratio nanotubes are synthesized, which are collected on substrate situated radially. The benefits of these morphologies are also evident in high-pressure/high-temperature consolidation experiments, where nanoparticle phases can offer a favorable conversion route to super-hard c-BN while maintaining nanocrystallinity. Experiments using these morphologies are shown to begin to yield c-BN conversion at conditions as low as 2.0 GPa and 1500°C when using micron sized c-BN seeding to create localized regions of high pressures due to Hertzian forces acting on the nanoparticles.

  9. Nanomaterial Host Bands Effect on the Photoluminescence Properties of Ce-Doped YAG Nanophosphor Synthesized by Sol-Gel Method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. Guerbous

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Cerium trivalent (Ce3+ doped YAG nano-sized phosphors have been successfully synthesized by sol-gel method using different annealing temperatures. The samples have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD, thermogravimetry (TG, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC analysis, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR spectroscopy, and steady photoluminescence (PL spectroscopy. X-ray diffraction analysis indicates that the pure cubic phase YAG was formed and strongly depends on the cerium content and the annealing temperature. It was found that the grain size ranges from 30 to 58 nm depending on the calcination temperature. The YAG: Ce nanophosphors showed intense, green-yellow emission, corresponding to Ce3+ 5d1→2F5/2, 2F7/2 transitions and its photoluminescence excitation spectrum contains the two Ce3+ 4f1→5d1, 5d2 bands. The crystal filed splitting energy levels positions 5d1 and 5d2 and the emission transitions blue shift with annealing temperatures have been discussed. It was found that the Ce3+ 4f1 ground state position relative to valence band maximum of YAG host nanomaterial decreases with increasing the temperature.

  10. Cubic Pencils and Painlev\\'e Hamiltonians

    OpenAIRE

    Kajiwara, Kenji; Masuda, Tetsu; Noumi, Masatoshi; Ohta, Yasuhiro; Yamada, Yasuhiko

    2004-01-01

    We present a simple heuristic method to derive the Painlev\\'e differential equations from the corresponding geometry of rational surafces. We also give a direct relationship between the cubic pencils and Seiberg-Witten curves.

  11. Effects of ionizing radiations on the optical properties of ionic copper-activated sol-gel silica glasses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al Helou, Nissrine; El Hamzaoui, Hicham; Capoen, Bruno; Ouerdane, Youcef; Boukenter, Aziz; Girard, Sylvain; Bouazaoui, Mohamed

    2018-01-01

    Studying the impact of radiations on doped silica glasses is essential for several technological applications. Herein, bulk silica glasses, activated with various concentrations of luminescent monovalent copper (Cu+), have been prepared using the sol-gel technique. Thereafter, these glasses were subjected to X- or γ-rays irradiation at 1 MGy(SiO2) accumulated dose. The effect of these ionizing radiations on the optical properties of these glasses, as a function of the Cu-doping content, were investigated using optical absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopies. Before any irradiation, the glass with the lowest copper concentration exhibits blue and green luminescence bands under UV excitation, suggesting that Cu+ ions occupy both cubic and tetragonal symmetry sites. However, at higher Cu-doping level, only the green emission band exists. Moreover, we showed that the hydroxyl content decreases with increasing copper doping concentration. Both X and γ radiation exposures induced visible absorption due to HC1 color centers in the highly Cu-doped glasses. In the case of the lower Cu-doped glass, the Cu+ sites with a cubic symmetry are transformed into sites with tetragonal symmetry.

  12. Integrable peakon equations with cubic nonlinearity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hone, Andrew N W; Wang, J P

    2008-01-01

    We present a new integrable partial differential equation found by Vladimir Novikov. Like the Camassa-Holm and Degasperis-Procesi equations, this new equation admits peaked soliton (peakon) solutions, but it has nonlinear terms that are cubic, rather than quadratic. We give a matrix Lax pair for V Novikov's equation, and show how it is related by a reciprocal transformation to a negative flow in the Sawada-Kotera hierarchy. Infinitely many conserved quantities are found, as well as a bi-Hamiltonian structure. The latter is used to obtain the Hamiltonian form of the finite-dimensional system for the interaction of N peakons, and the two-body dynamics (N = 2) is explicitly integrated. Finally, all of this is compared with some analogous results for another cubic peakon equation derived by Zhijun Qiao. (fast track communication)

  13. Method for estimating critical properties of heavy compounds suitable for cubic equations of state and its application to the prediction of vapor pressures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kontogeorgis, Georgios; Ioannis, Smirlis; Iakovos, Yakoumis

    1997-01-01

    S. The proposed scheme employs a recent group-contribution method (Constantinou et al. Fluid Phase Equilib. 1995, 103 (1), 11) for estimating the acentric factor. The two critical properties are estimated via a generalized correlation for the ratio T-c/P-c (with the van der Waals surface area) and the cubic Eo...... pressures for several nonpolar and slightly polar heavy compounds with very satisfactory results, essentially independent of the experimental point used. Furthermore, the method yields critical properties for heavy alkanes (N-c > 20) and other compounds which are in very good agreement with recent available......Cubic equations of state (EoS) are often used for correlating and predicting phase equilibria. Before extending any EoS to mixtures, reliable vapor-pressure prediction is essential. This requires experimental, if possible, critical temperatures T-c, pressures P-c, and acentric factor omega...

  14. Characterization of SrCo1.5Ti1.5Fe9O19 hexagonal ferrite synthesized by sol-gel combustion and solid state route

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vinaykumar, R.; Mazumder, R.; Bera, J.

    2017-01-01

    Co-Ti co-substituted SrM hexagonal ferrite (SrCo 1.5 Ti 1.5 Fe 9 O 19 ) was synthesized by sol-gel combustion and solid state route. The effects of sources of TiO 2 raw materials; titanium tetra-isopropoxide (TTIP) and titanyl nitrate (TN) on the phase formation behavior and properties of the ferrite were studied. The thermal decomposition behavior of the gel was studied using TG-DSC. The phase formation behavior of the ferrite was studied by using X-ray powder diffraction and FTIR analysis. Phase formation was comparatively easier in the TN-based sol-gel process. The morphology of powder and sintered ferrite was investigated using scanning electron microscope. Magnetic properties like magnetization, coercivity, permeability, tan δ µ and dielectric properties were investigated. The ferrite synthesized by sol-gel based chemical route showed higher saturation magnetization, permeability and permittivity compared to the ferrite synthesized by solid state route. - Highlights: • SrCo 1.5 Ti 1.5 Fe 9 O 19 ferrite was successfully prepared by sol–gel combustion process. • Sol-gel synthesis of the ferrite using titanyl nitrate has been reported first time. • Phase formation was easier in the titanyl nitrate based sol-gel process. • Better magneto-dielectric properties were observed in sol-gel processed ferrite.

  15. The Combinatorial Rigidity Conjecture is False for Cubic Polynomials

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Henriksen, Christian

    2003-01-01

    We show that there exist two cubic polynomials with connected Julia sets which are combinatorially equivalent but not topologically conjugate on their Julia sets. This disproves a conjecture by McMullen from 1995.......We show that there exist two cubic polynomials with connected Julia sets which are combinatorially equivalent but not topologically conjugate on their Julia sets. This disproves a conjecture by McMullen from 1995....

  16. Structural and multiferroic properties of barium substituted bismuth ferrite nanocrystallites prepared by sol–gel method

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Anju [Materials Science Lab, Department of Physics, Chaudhary Devi Lal University, Sirsa 125055 (India); Agarwal, Ashish [Department of Applied Physics, Guru Jambheshwar University of Science & Technology, Hisar 125001 (India); Aghamkar, Praveen, E-mail: praveenaghamkar@gmail.com [Materials Science Lab, Department of Physics, Chaudhary Devi Lal University, Sirsa 125055 (India); Lal, Bhajan [Department of Applied Sciences, Goverment Polytechnic for Women, Sirsa 125055 (India)

    2017-03-15

    Nanocrystalline Bi{sub 1-x}Ba{sub x}FeO{sub 3} (0≤x≤0.3) multiferroics were efficiently obtained by sol–gel method after sintering at 800 °C for one hour. The Ba substitution in BiFeO{sub 3} (BFO) strongly modifies its structural and multiferroic properties. XRD studies revealed the structural transition from distorted rhombohedral (R3c) to pseudo-cubic (Pm3m) crystal symmetry. The magnetization increases appreciably for x=0.1, which is due to spin canting of magnetic moments at the nanoparticle surfaces and decreases afterward. From the temperature dependent magnetization studies, it is found that magnetic transition temperature (T{sub N}) is 620 K for x=0 and 640 K for x=0.1. Besides, the maximum polarisation value decreases with increasing Ba content. SEM micrographs revealed the formation of cubic nanocrystallites with increased porosity on Ba substitution. FTIR analysis of the samples also supports the structural change towards increased crystal symmetry. - Highlights: • XRD studies revealed the structural transition from distorted rhombohedral (R3c) to pseudo-cubic (Pm3m) crystal symmetry. • The magnetization increases appreciably for x=0.1 and decreases afterward for higher Ba content. • Magnetic transition temperature (T{sub N}) is found to be 620 K for x=0 and 640 K for x=0.1. • Maximum polarisation value is highest for x=0.1.

  17. Thermal Conductivity and Erosion Durability of Composite Two-Phase Air Plasma Sprayed Thermal Barrier Coatings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmitt, Michael P.; Rai, Amarendra K.; Zhu, Dongming; Dorfman, Mitchell R.; Wolfe, Douglas E.

    2015-01-01

    To enhance efficiency of gas turbines, new thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) must be designed which improve upon the thermal stability limit of 7 wt% yttria stabilized zirconia (7YSZ), approximately 1200 C. This tenant has led to the development of new TBC materials and microstructures capable of improved high temperature performance. This study focused on increasing the erosion durability of cubic zirconia based TBCs, traditionally less durable than the metastable t' zirconia based TBCs. Composite TBC microstructures composed of a low thermal conductivity/high temperature stable cubic Low-k matrix phase and a durable t' Low-k secondary phase were deposited via APS. Monolithic coatings composed of cubic Low-k and t' Low-k were also deposited, in addition to a 7YSZ benchmark. The thermal conductivity and erosion durability were then measured and it was found that both of the Low-k materials have significantly reduced thermal conductivities, with monolithic t' Low-k and cubic Low-k improving upon 7YSZ by approximately 13 and approximately 25%, respectively. The 40 wt% t' Low-k composite (40 wt% t' Low-k - 60 wt% cubic Low-k) showed a approximately 22% reduction in thermal conductivity over 7YSZ, indicating even at high levels, the t' Low-k secondary phase had a minimal impact on thermal in the composite coating. It was observed that a mere 20 wt% t' Low-k phase addition can reduce the erosion of a cubic Low-k matrix phase composite coating by over 37%. Various mixing rules were then investigated to assess this non-linear composite behavior and suggestions were made to further improve erosion durability.

  18. Sol-Gel synthesis of MgO-SiO2 glass compositions having stable liquid-liquid immiscibility

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bansal, Narottam P.

    1987-01-01

    MgO-SiO2 glasses containing up to 15 mol % MgO, which could not have been prepared by the conventional glass melting method due to the presence of stable liquid-liquid immiscibility, were synthesized by the sol-gel technique. Clear and transparent gels were obtained from the hydrolysis and polycondensation of silicon tetraethoxide (TEOS) and magnesium nitrate hexahydrate when the water/TEOS mole ratio was four or more. The gelling time decreased with increase in magnesium content, water/TEOS ratio, and reaction temperature. Magnesium nitrate hexahydrate crystallized out of the gels containing 15 and 20 mol % MgO on slow drying. This problem was partially alleviated by drying the gels quickly at higher temperatures. Monolithic gel samples were prepared using glycerol as the drying control additive. The gels were subjected to various thermal treatments and characterized by several methods. No organic groups could be detected in the glasses after heat treatments to approx. 800 C, but trace amounts of hydroxyl groups were still present. No crystalline phase was found from X-ray diffraction in the gel samples to approx. 890 C. At higher temperatures, alpha quartz precipitated out as the crystalline phase in gels containing up to 10 mol % MgO. The overall activation energy for gel formation in 10MgO-90SiO2 (mol %) system for water/TEOS mole ratio of 7.5 was calculated to be 58.7 kJ/mol.

  19. Generalized Born-Infeld actions and projective cubic curves

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ferrara, S. [Department of Physics, CERN Theory Division, CH - 1211 Geneva 23 (Switzerland); INFN - Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, Via Enrico Fermi 40, I-00044, Frascati (Italy); Porrati, M. [CCPP, Department of Physics, NYU, 4 Washington Pl., New York, NY, 10003 (United States); Sagnotti, A. [Department of Physics, CERN Theory Division, CH - 1211 Geneva 23 (Switzerland); Stora, R. [Department of Physics, CERN Theory Division, CH - 1211 Geneva 23 (Switzerland); Laboratoire d' Annecy-le-Vieux de Physique Theorique (LAPTH), F-74941, Annecy-le-Vieux, Cedex (France); Yeranyan, A. [INFN - Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, Via Enrico Fermi 40, I-00044, Frascati (Italy); Centro Studi e Ricerche Enrico Fermi, Via Panisperna 89A, 00184, Roma (Italy)

    2015-04-01

    We investigate U(1){sup n} supersymmetric Born-Infeld Lagrangians with a second non-linearly realized supersymmetry. The resulting non-linear structure is more complex than the square root present in the standard Born-Infeld action, and nonetheless the quadratic constraints determining these models can be solved exactly in all cases containing three vector multiplets. The corresponding models are classified by cubic holomorphic prepotentials. Their symmetry structures are associated to projective cubic varieties. (copyright 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  20. First-principles study of nitrogen doping in cubic and amorphous Ge{sub 2}Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 5}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Caravati, S; Mazzarello, R; Kuehne, T D; Parrinello, M [Computational Science, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich, USI Campus, Via Giuseppe Buffi 13, CH-6900 Lugano (Switzerland); Colleoni, D; Bernasconi, M [Dipartimento di Scienza dei Materiali, Universita di Milano-Bicocca, Via R Cozzi 53, I-20125 Milano (Italy); Krack, M [Paul Scherrer Institut, CH-5232 Villigen (Switzerland)

    2011-07-06

    We investigated the structural, electronic and vibrational properties of amorphous and cubic Ge{sub 2}Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 5} doped with N at 4.2 at.% by means of large scale ab initio simulations. Nitrogen can be incorporated in molecular form in both the crystalline and amorphous phases at a moderate energy cost. In contrast, insertion of N in the atomic form is very energetically costly in the crystalline phase, though it is still possible in the amorphous phase. These results support the suggestion that N segregates at the grain boundaries during the crystallization of the amorphous phase, resulting in a reduction in size of the crystalline grains and an increased crystallization temperature.

  1. GelTouch

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Miruchna, Viktor; Walter, Robert; Lindlbauer, David

    2015-01-01

    We present GelTouch, a gel-based layer that can selectively transition between soft and stiff to provide tactile multi-touch feedback. It is flexible, transparent when not activated, and contains no mechanical, electromagnetic, or hydraulic components, resulting in a compact form factor (a 2mm thin...... touchscreen layer for our prototype). The activated areas can be morphed freely and continuously, without being limited to fixed, predefined shapes. GelTouch consists of a poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) gel layer which alters its viscoelasticity when activated by applying heat (>32 C). We present three different...

  2. The gel electrophoresis markup language (GelML) from the Proteomics Standards Initiative.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gibson, Frank; Hoogland, Christine; Martinez-Bartolomé, Salvador; Medina-Aunon, J Alberto; Albar, Juan Pablo; Babnigg, Gyorgy; Wipat, Anil; Hermjakob, Henning; Almeida, Jonas S; Stanislaus, Romesh; Paton, Norman W; Jones, Andrew R

    2010-09-01

    The Human Proteome Organisation's Proteomics Standards Initiative has developed the GelML (gel electrophoresis markup language) data exchange format for representing gel electrophoresis experiments performed in proteomics investigations. The format closely follows the reporting guidelines for gel electrophoresis, which are part of the Minimum Information About a Proteomics Experiment (MIAPE) set of modules. GelML supports the capture of metadata (such as experimental protocols) and data (such as gel images) resulting from gel electrophoresis so that laboratories can be compliant with the MIAPE Gel Electrophoresis guidelines, while allowing such data sets to be exchanged or downloaded from public repositories. The format is sufficiently flexible to capture data from a broad range of experimental processes, and complements other PSI formats for MS data and the results of protein and peptide identifications to capture entire gel-based proteome workflows. GelML has resulted from the open standardisation process of PSI consisting of both public consultation and anonymous review of the specifications.

  3. On the sol-gel synthesis and thermal, structural, and magnetic studies of transition metal (Ni, Co, Mn) containing ZnO powders

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Thota, Subhash; Dutta, Titas; Kumar, Jitendra [Materials Science Programme, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur-208016 (India)

    2006-03-01

    Transition metal containing ZnO powders (Zn{sub 1-x}M{sub x}O, 0{<=}x{<=}0.30; M = Ni, Mn, Co) have been synthesized by a sol-gel process using zinc acetate dihydrate, respective acetate and oxalic acid as precursors with ethanol as a solvent. The process essentially involves gel formation, drying at 80 {sup 0}C for 24 h to provide the oxalate, and calcination at 500 {sup 0}C for 2 h to undergo an exothermic reaction and yield Zn{sub 1-x}M{sub x}O powder. Their XRD patterns correspond to a wurtzite hcp structure similar to that of pure ZnO, but with the lattice parameters varying slightly with type and extent of doping. It is shown that the dissolution of nickel and cobalt in ZnO is less than 10 at.%, whereas that of manganese lies between 10 and 15 at.%. Other phases that emerge include NiO (hexagonal, a = 2.954 A, c = 7.236 A), ZnCo{sub 2}O{sub 4} (cubic, a = 8.094 A) and ZnMnO{sub 3} (cubic, a = 8.35 A) in the Ni, Co and Mn containing ZnO systems, respectively. Observations of hysteresis loops both at 10 and 320 K and the nature of ESR spectra provide evidence for the ferromagnetic state in nickel containing ZnO powder. Besides, the deviation occurs in the magnetization versus temperature curves in zero field cooled (ZFC) and field cooled (FC) conditions (blocking temperature T{sub B} being 32 K for 5 at.% Ni). The magnetic behaviour of manganese and cobalt doped zinc oxide is, however, different, namely (i) no hysteresis loops (ii) decrease in magnetization with increase of Mn or Co content, and (iii) identical M-T curves under ZFC and FC conditions. The inverse susceptibility versus temperature curves of Zn{sub 1-x}Mn{sub x}O compounds reveal ferrimagnetism with Neel temperature T{sub N} of 4 K for x = 0.02, but antiferromagnetism for x = 0.15 and 0.25 with Curie-Weiss temperature of -43 and -30 K, respectively.

  4. Stacking gels: A method for maximising output for pulsed-field gel electrophoresis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heng See

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE, the gold standard of molecular typing methods, has a major disadvantage of an unusually long electrophoretic time. From the original protocol of 6 days, it was modified to 3 days and subsequently to a single day. We describe the procedure of stacking five to six gels one on top of another in order to increase and maximize the output in a shorter time without compromising the resolution and reproducibility. All the variables that affect pulsed field gels during electrophoresis were taken into consideration. We firstly optimized the parameters to be used and secondly determined whether stacking of five to six gels had any effect on the molecular separation during electrophoresis in comparison with a single gel run. DNA preparation, restriction, electrophoresis, staining and gel documentation was carried out based on previously published methods. Gels were analysed using BioNumerics and dice coefficient and unweighted pair group methods were used to generate dendrograms based on 1.5% tolerance values. Identical band profiles and band resolution-separation were seen in the PFGE patterns with single gel and multiple stacking gels. Cluster analysis further strengthened the fact that results from stacking gels were reproducible and comparable with a single gel run. This method of stacking gels saves time and maximizes the output at the same time. The run time for a single gel was about 28 hours, but with six stacked gels the run time was 54 hours compared with 28 x 6 = 168 hours if they were run separately as single gels thus saving time of 67.86%. Beside the big factor of saving time, stacking gels save resources (electricity, reagents, water, chemicals and working time by increasing the sample throughput in a shorter time without compromising on quality of data. But optimization of working parameters is vital depending on the PFGE system used.

  5. User`s guide and documentation manual for ``PC-Gel`` simulator

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chang, Ming-Ming; Gao, Hong W.

    1993-10-01

    PC-GEL is a three-dimensional, three-phase (oil, water, and gas) permeability modification simulator developed by incorporating an in-situ gelation model into a black oil simulator (BOAST) for personal computer application. The features included in the simulator are: transport of each chemical species of the polymer/crosslinker system in porous media, gelation reaction kinetics of the polymer with crosslinking agents, rheology of the polymer and gel, inaccessible pore volume to macromolecules, adsorption of chemical species on rock surfaces, retention of gel on the rock matrix, and permeability reduction caused by the adsorption of polymer and gel. The in-situ gelation model and simulator were validated against data reported in the literature. The simulator PC-GEL is useful for simulating and optimizing any combination of primary production, waterflooding, polymer flooding, and permeability modification treatments. A general background of permeability modification using crosslinked polymer gels is given in Section I and the governing equations, mechanisms, and numerical solutions of PC-GEL are given in Section II. Steps for preparing an input data file with reservoir and gel-chemical transport data, and recurrent data are described in Sections III and IV, respectively. Example data inputs are enclosed after explanations of each input line to help the user prepare data files. Major items of the output files are reviewed in Section V. Finally, three sample problems for running PC-GEL are described in Section VI, and input files and part of the output files of these problems are listed in the appendices. For the user`s reference a copy of the source code of PC-GEL computer program is attached in Appendix A.

  6. Bifurcation diagram of a cubic three-parameter autonomous system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lenka Barakova

    2005-07-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we study the cubic three-parameter autonomous planar system $$displaylines{ dot x_1 = k_1 + k_2x_1 - x_1^3 - x_2,cr dot x_2 = k_3 x_1 - x_2, }$$ where $k_2, k_3$ are greater than 0. Our goal is to obtain a bifurcation diagram; i.e., to divide the parameter space into regions within which the system has topologically equivalent phase portraits and to describe how these portraits are transformed at the bifurcation boundaries. Results may be applied to the macroeconomical model IS-LM with Kaldor's assumptions. In this model existence of a stable limit cycles has already been studied (Andronov-Hopf bifurcation. We present the whole bifurcation diagram and among others, we prove existence of more difficult bifurcations and existence of unstable cycles.

  7. Dynamical analysis of a cubic Liénard system with global parameters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Hebai; Chen, Xingwu

    2015-10-01

    In this paper we investigate the dynamical behaviour of a cubic Liénard system with global parameters. After analysing the qualitative properties of all the equilibria and judging the existences of limit cycles and homoclinic loops for the whole parameter plane, we give the bifurcation diagram and phase portraits. Phase portraits are global if there exist limit cycles and local otherwise. We prove that parameters lie in a connected region, not just on a curve, usually in the parameter plane when the system has one homoclinic loop. Moreover, for global parameters we give a positive answer to conjecture 3.2 of (1998 Nonlinearity 11 1505-19) in the case of exactly two equilibria about the existence of some function whose graph is exactly the surface of double limit cycles. Supported by NSFC 11471228, 11172246 and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities.

  8. Preparation of poly(acrylonitrile-butyl acrylate) gel electrolyte for lithium-ion batteries

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tian Zheng [Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); He Xiangming [Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China)]. E-mail: hexm@tsinghua.edu.cn; Pu Weihua [Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Wan Chunrong [Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Jiang Changyin [Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China)

    2006-10-25

    Poly(acrylonitrile-butyl acrylate) gel polymer electrolyte was prepared for lithium ion batteries. The preparation started with synthesis of poly(acrylonitrile-butyl acrylate) by radical emulsion polymerization, followed by phase inversion to produce microporous membrane. Then, the microporous gel polymer electrolytes (MGPEs) was prepared with the microporous membrane and LiPF{sub 6} in ethylene carbonate/diethyl carbonate. The dry microporous membrane showed a fracture strength as high as 18.98 MPa. As-prepared gel polymer electrolytes presented ionic conductivity in excess of 3.0 x 10{sup -3} S cm{sup -1} at ambient temperature and a decomposition voltage over 6.6 V. The results showed that the as-prepared gel polymer electrolytes were promising materials for Li-ion batteries.

  9. Microscopy evidence of the face-centered cubic arrangement of monodisperse polystyrene nanospheres

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang Hui [School of Science, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044 (China)]. E-mail: zhanghui14305@sohu.com; Duan Renguan [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545 (United States); Li Fan [Department of Physical Chemistry, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083 (China); Tang Qing [Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100080 (China); Li Wenchao [Department of Physical Chemistry, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083 (China)

    2007-07-01

    This paper reports a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) investigation of polystyrene artificial opal achieved through self-assembly of monodisperse polystyrene nanospheres with a diameter of 250 nm from colloidal suspension after being ambient dried. A detailed analysis of the SEM images verifies that the face-centered cubic (fcc) phase is the most stable one for the polystyrene opal prepared. This finding provides a strong support for, by using polystyrene opal as template, fabricating a photonic crystal with inverse fcc structure of full band gap if the refractive index contrast is higher than 2.8 and the filling fraction of the high index materials is between 0.2 and 0.3.

  10. Microscopy evidence of the face-centered cubic arrangement of monodisperse polystyrene nanospheres

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Hui; Duan Renguan; Li Fan; Tang Qing; Li Wenchao

    2007-01-01

    This paper reports a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) investigation of polystyrene artificial opal achieved through self-assembly of monodisperse polystyrene nanospheres with a diameter of 250 nm from colloidal suspension after being ambient dried. A detailed analysis of the SEM images verifies that the face-centered cubic (fcc) phase is the most stable one for the polystyrene opal prepared. This finding provides a strong support for, by using polystyrene opal as template, fabricating a photonic crystal with inverse fcc structure of full band gap if the refractive index contrast is higher than 2.8 and the filling fraction of the high index materials is between 0.2 and 0.3

  11. Some elements go cubic under pressure

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Legut, Dominik

    2007-01-01

    Roč. 60, č. 10 (2007), s. 17-17 ISSN 0031-9228 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z20410507 Keywords : ab initio * polonium * cubic structure Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 5.133, year: 2007

  12. Safety, tolerability, and systemic absorption of dapivirine vaginal microbicide gel in healthy, HIV-negative women

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nel, Annalene M.; Coplan, Paul; van de Wijgert, Janneke H.; Kapiga, Saidi H.; von Mollendorf, Claire; Geubbels, Eveline; Vyankandondera, Joseph; Rees, Helen V.; Masenga, Gileard; Kiwelu, Ireen; Moyes, Jocelyn; Smythe, Shanique C.

    2009-01-01

    To assess the local and systemic safety of dapivirine vaginal gel vs. placebo gel as well as the systemic absorption of dapivirine in healthy, HIV-negative women. Two prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase I/II studies were conducted at five research centers, four in Africa

  13. Bioactive nanocrystalline wollastonite synthesized by sol–gel ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    The sol–gel combustion method was employed to synthesize the nanocrystalline wollastonite by taking the raw eggshell powder as a calcium source and TEOS as a source of silicate. Glycine was used as a reductant or fuel and nitrate ions present in metal nitrate acts as an oxidizer. The phase purity of the wollastonite was ...

  14. Dry gel conversion synthesis of SAPO-34 nanocrystals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hirota, Yuichiro; Murata, Kenji; Tanaka, Shunsuke; Nishiyama, Norikazu; Egashira, Yasuyuki; Ueyama, Korekazu

    2010-01-01

    SAPO-34 nanocrystals were synthesized by a dry gel conversion method using tetraethylammonium hydroxide as a structure-directing agent. The crystal growth of SAPO-34 was studied by X-ray diffraction and field-emission scanning electron microscopy. After 3 h, 45-nm SAPO-34 crystals with an amorphous phase were observed. The crystal size increased to 70 nm after 6 h, but did not increase greatly thereafter. The average crystal size of the final product was 75 nm. The nucleation density for SAPO-34 crystals in dry gel conversion appeared to be much higher than that under hydrothermal conditions, resulting in the formation of small crystals.

  15. Anisotropic frequency response of critical density fluctuation of NIPA gel under oscillation shear

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sugiyama, Masaaki [Research Reactor Institute, Kyoto University, Osaka 590-0494 (Japan)]. E-mail: sugiyama@rri.kyoto-u.ac.jp; Vigild, Martin E. [Danish Polymer Centre, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Lyngby (Denmark); Fukunaga, Toshiharu [Research Reactor Institute, Kyoto University, Osaka 590-0494 (Japan); Itoh, Keiji [Research Reactor Institute, Kyoto University, Osaka 590-0494 (Japan); Mori, Kazuhiro [Research Reactor Institute, Kyoto University, Osaka 590-0494 (Japan); Sato, Takashi [Department of Engineering Physics and Mechanics, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501 (Japan); Annaka, Masahiko [Department of Chemistry, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8581 (Japan)

    2006-11-15

    A relation between rheology and structure of high density NIPA gel around a critical point on volume phase transition was studied by a simultaneous rheology and small-angle neutron scattering measurement. Just below the critical temperature, the NIPA gel showed softening: G{sup '} and G{sup '}' get closer (G{sup '}>G{sup '}'). At this temperature, the density fluctuation enhanced along the shear direction corresponding to the shear frequency but not to the shear strength. It means that this anisotropy is different from that observed in a statically stretched gel.

  16. Trace spaces in a pre-cubical complex

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Raussen, Martin

    2009-01-01

    In directed algebraic topology, directed irreversible (d)-paths and spaces consisting of d-paths are studied from a topological and from a categorical point of view. Motivated by models for concurrent computation, we study in this paper spaces of d-paths in a pre-cubical complex. Such paths...... are equipped with a natural arc length which moreover is shown to be invariant under directed homotopies. D-paths up to reparametrization (called traces) can thus be represented by arc length parametrized d-paths. Under weak additional conditions, it is shown that trace spaces in a pre-cubical complex...... are separable metric spaces which are locally contractible and locally compact. Moreover, they have the homotopy type of a CW-complex....

  17. Modeling Phase Equilibria for Acid Gas Mixtures using the Cubic-Plus-Association Equation of State. 3. Applications Relevant to Liquid or Supercritical CO2 Transport

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tsivintzelis, Ioannis; Ali, Shahid; Kontogeorgis, Georgios

    2014-01-01

    density data for both CO2 and CO2–water and for vapor–liquid equilibrium for mixtures of CO2 with various compounds present in transport systems. In all of these cases we consider various possibilities for modeling CO2 (inert, self-associating using two-, three-, and four sites) and the possibility......The CPA (cubic-plus-association) equation of state is applied in this work to a wide range of systems of relevance to CO2 transport. Both phase equilibria and densities over extensive temperature and pressure ranges are considered. More specifically in this study we first evaluate CPA against......” for applying CPA to acid gas mixtures. The overall conclusion is that CPA performs satisfactorily; the model in most cases correlates well binary data and predicts with good accuracy multicomponent vapor–liquid equilibria. Among the various approaches investigated, the best ones are when cross association...

  18. The planar cubic Cayley graphs

    CERN Document Server

    Georgakopoulos, Agelos

    2018-01-01

    The author obtains a complete description of the planar cubic Cayley graphs, providing an explicit presentation and embedding for each of them. This turns out to be a rich class, comprising several infinite families. He obtains counterexamples to conjectures of Mohar, Bonnington and Watkins. The author's analysis makes the involved graphs accessible to computation, corroborating a conjecture of Droms.

  19. Weak and Strong Gels and the Emergence of the Amorphous Solid State

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jack F. Douglas

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Gels are amorphous solids whose macroscopic viscoelastic response derives from constraints in the material that serve to localize the constituent molecules or particles about their average positions in space. These constraints may either be local in nature, as in chemical cross-linking and direct physical associations, or non-local, as in case of topological “entanglement” interactions between highly extended fiber or sheet structures in the fluid. Either of these interactions, or both combined, can lead to “gelation” or “amorphous solidification”. While gels are often considered to be inherently non-equilibrium materials, and correspondingly termed “soft glassy matter”, this is not generally the case. For example, the formation of vulcanized rubbers by cross-linking macromolecules can be exactly described as a second order phase transition from an equilibrium fluid to an equilibrium solid state, and amorphous solidification also arises in diverse physical gels in which molecular and particle localization occurs predominantly through transient molecuar associations, or even topological interactions. As equilibrium, or near equilibrium systems, such gels can be expected to exhibit universal linear and non-linear viscoelastic properties, especially near the “critical” conditions at which the gel state first emerges. In particular, a power-law viscoelastic response is frequently observed in gel materials near their “gelation” or “amorphous solidification” transition. Another basic property of physical gels of both theoretical and practical interest is their response to large stresses at constant shear rate or under a fixed macrocopic strain. In particular, these materials are often quite sensitive to applied stresses that can cause the self-assembled structure to progressively break down under flow or deformation. This disintegration of gel structure can lead to “yield” of the gel material, i.e., a fluidization

  20. Development of an elevated temperature aluminum alloy containing Al3X-type dispersed phases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zedalis, M.S.

    1985-01-01

    The extents of solid solubility in the equilibrium, tetragonal Al 3 X-type dispersed phases (X represents binary and ternary combinations of Hf, Ti, V, and Zr) were examined using powder x-ray diffraction methods. Minimum lattice disregistry (delta) with the Al(ss) matrix was achieved by maximizing the amount of Ti or V added to the Al 3 Hf and/or Al 3 Zr phases without forming a co-intermetallic compound exhibiting a DO 22 crystal structure. In comparison to Al 3 Zr, with a (delta) equal to 2.88%, the addition of V to Al 3 Zr in the ratio 7:1, i.e., Al 3 (v/sub 0.875/Zr/sub 0.125/), results in a decrease in (delta) by approximately 17%. Electron diffraction revealed that the addition of V to the metastable cubic (L1 2 ) Al 3 Zr phase also resulted in a reduction in the lattice disregistry across the precipitate/matrix boundary. In comparison with the cubic Al 3 Zr phase, with a (delta) of approximately 1.0%, the Al 3 (V/sub 0.875/Zr/sub 0.125/) phase exhibits a mismatch of approximately -0.14%. The cubic Al 3 (V/sub 0.875/Zr/sub 0.125/) phase was observed by TEM to be substantially more stable, i.e., resist transformation to the equilibrium tetragonal phase, when compared to the cubic Al 3 Zr phase. It is proposed that a reduction in lattice disregistry results in a decrease in the strain energy component of the system's total free energy. A systematic decrease in the coarsening rate with a reduction in the lattice disregistry for the cubic Al 3 Zr, Al 3 (V/sub 0.725/Zr/sub 0.275/) and Al 3 (V/sub 0.875/Zr/sub 0.125/) and tetragonal Al 3 Zr and Al 3 (V/sub 0.875/Zr/sub 0.125/) phases is proposed to be representative of a decrease in the interfacial energy across the precipitate/matrix boundary

  1. Organo-gel de heptano: diagrama de fases e aplicações sintéticas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Queiroz Neide

    1999-01-01

    Full Text Available The phase diagram formation of microemulsion-based gels composed of an anionic surfactant aerosol-OT sodium bis (2-ethylhexyl-sulphosuccinate, water, gelatin and an organic solvent is presented for heptane. The stability of this organo- gel, when an enzyme is immobilized is discussed in terms of its reutilization in various esters synthesis.

  2. Stability of cubic zirconia in a granitic system under high pressure and temperature

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gibb, F. G. F.; Burakov, B. E.; Taylor, K. J.; Domracheva, Y.

    2008-01-01

    Cubic zirconia is a well known, highly durable material with potential uses as an actinide host phase in ceramic waste forms and inert matrix fuels and in containers for very deep borehole disposal of some highly radioactive wastes. To investigate the behaviour of this material under the conditions of possible use, a cube of ∼2.5 mm edge was made from a single crystal of Yttria stabilized cubic zirconia doped with 0.3 wt.% CeO 2 . The cube was enclosed in powdered granite within a gold capsule and a small amount of H 2 O added before sealing. The sealed capsule was held for 4 months in a cold-seal pressure vessel at a temperature of 780 deg. C and a pressure 150 MPa, simulating both the conditions of a deep borehole disposal involving partial melting of the host rock and the conditions under which the actinide waste form might be encapsulated in granite prior to disposal. At the end of the experiment the quenched, largely glassy, sample was cut into thin slices and studied by optical microscopy, EMPA, SEM and cathodoluminescence methods. The results show that no corrosion of the zirconia crystal or reaction with the granite melt occurred and that no detectable diffusion of elements, including Ce, in or out of the zirconia took place on the timescale of the experiment. Consequently, it appears that cubic zirconia could perform most satisfactorily as both an actinide host waste form for encapsulation in solid granite for very deep disposal and as a container material for deep borehole disposal of highly radioactive wastes (HLW), including spent fuel. (authors)

  3. Elastic-modulus enhancement during room-temperature aging and its suppression in metastable Ti–Nb-Based alloys with low body-centered cubic phase stability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tane, M.; Hagihara, K.; Ueda, M.; Nakano, T.; Okuda, Y.

    2016-01-01

    Changes in the elastic properties during room-temperature aging (RT aging) of metastable Ti–Nb-based alloy single crystals with low body-centered cubic (bcc)-phase stability were investigated. The elastic stiffness components of Ti–Nb–Ta–Zr alloys with different Nb concentrations were measured by resonant ultrasound spectroscopy during RT aging; the results revealed that shear moduli c ′ and c 44 were increased by RT aging. In the alloy with the lowest Nb concentration, i.e., with the lowest bcc phase stability, shear moduli c ′ and c 44 were enhanced by the largest amount. The increase rates were ∼5% for 1.1 × 10 7  s (127 days), whereas the bulk modulus was hardly changed by aging. In Ti–Nb–Ta–Zr–O alloys with different oxygen concentrations, shear moduli c ′ and c 44 of the alloy with the lowest oxygen concentration increased most significantly. Moreover, the electrical resistivity of Ti–Nb–Ta–Zr and Ti–Nb–Ta–Zr–O alloys was increased by RT aging. Importantly, the enhancements of shear moduli and electrical resistivity were suppressed by increases in the bcc-phase stability (i.e., increase in the Nb concentration) and oxygen concentration; these factors are known to suppress ω (hexagonal) phase formation. However, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observations revealed that only a diffuse ω structure—an ω-like lattice distortion—was formed after RT aging. On the basis of alloying element effects, TEM observations, and analysis of the changes in elastic properties by using a micromechanics model, it was deduced that the enhancements of shear moduli and electrical resistivity were possibly caused by the formation of a diffuse ω structure.

  4. Sol-gel synthesis of lanthanum-gallate-based ceramic coatings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Golubko, N.V.; Kaleva, G.M.; Roginskaya, Yu.E.; Politova, E.D.

    2007-01-01

    Phase-pure (La 0.9 Sr 0.1 )(Ga 0.7 Fe 0.3 )O 3-y and (Sr 1.8 La 0.2 )(GaFe)O 5.1 solid solutions with the perovskite and brownmillerite structures have been prepared from salt solutions by sol-gel processing at temperatures from 570 to 870 K. Ceramic coatings up to 100 μm in thickness have been produced by applying suspensions of the sol-gel powders to various substrates. The structure and microstructure of the ceramic coatings have been studied by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy [ru

  5. Surface structure of polymer Gels and emerging functions

    CERN Document Server

    Kobiki, Y

    1999-01-01

    We report the surface structure of polymer gels on a submicrometer scale during the volume phase transition. Sponge-like domains with a mesoscopic scale were directly observed in water by using at atomic force microscope (AFM). The surface structure characterized by the domains is discussed in terms of the root-mean-square roughness and the auto-correlation function, which were calculated from the AFM images. In order to demonstrate the role of surface structure in determining the macroscopic properties of film-like poly (N-isopropylacrylamide: NIPA) gels. It was found that the temperature dependence, as well as the absolute values of the static contact angle, were strongly dependent on the bulk network inhomogeneities. The relation between the mesoscopic structure and the macroscopic properties is qualitatively discussed in terms of not only the changes in the chemical, but also in the physical, surface properties of the NIPA gels in response to a temperature change.

  6. [Multimodal medical image registration using cubic spline interpolation method].

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Yuanlie; Tian, Lianfang; Chen, Ping; Wang, Lifei; Ye, Guangchun; Mao, Zongyuan

    2007-12-01

    Based on the characteristic of the PET-CT multimodal image series, a novel image registration and fusion method is proposed, in which the cubic spline interpolation method is applied to realize the interpolation of PET-CT image series, then registration is carried out by using mutual information algorithm and finally the improved principal component analysis method is used for the fusion of PET-CT multimodal images to enhance the visual effect of PET image, thus satisfied registration and fusion results are obtained. The cubic spline interpolation method is used for reconstruction to restore the missed information between image slices, which can compensate for the shortage of previous registration methods, improve the accuracy of the registration, and make the fused multimodal images more similar to the real image. Finally, the cubic spline interpolation method has been successfully applied in developing 3D-CRT (3D Conformal Radiation Therapy) system.

  7. Electrophoresis of DNA in agarose gels, polyacrylamide gels and in free solution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stellwagen, Nancy C.

    2009-01-01

    This review describes the electrophoresis of curved and normal DNA molecules in agarose gels, polyacrylamide gels and in free solution. These studies were undertaken to clarify why curved DNA molecules migrate anomalously slowly in polyacrylamide gels but not in agarose gels. Two milestone papers are cited, in which Ferguson plots were used to estimate the effective pore size of agarose and polyacrylamide gels. Subsequent studies on the effect of the electric field on agarose and polyacrylamide gel matrices, DNA interactions with the two gel matrices, and the effect of curvature on the free solution mobility of DNA are also described. The combined results suggest that the anomalously slow mobilities observed for curved DNA molecules in polyacrylamide gels are due primarily to preferential interactions of curved DNAs with the polyacrylamide gel matrix; the restrictive pore size of the matrix is of lesser importance. In free solution, DNA mobilities increase with increasing molecular mass until leveling off at a plateau value of (3.17 ± 0.01) × 10-4 cm2/Vs in 40 mM Tris-acetate-EDTA buffer at 20°C. Curved DNA molecules migrate anomalously slowly in free solution as well as in polyacrylamide gels, explaining why the Ferguson plots of curved and normal DNAs containing the same number of base pairs extrapolate to different mobilities at zero gel concentration. PMID:19517510

  8. Regularizing cubic open Neveu-Schwarz string field theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berkovits, Nathan; Siegel, Warren

    2009-01-01

    After introducing non-minimal variables, the midpoint insertion of Y Y-bar in cubic open Neveu-Schwarz string field theory can be replaced with an operator N ρ depending on a constant parameter ρ. As in cubic open superstring field theory using the pure spinor formalism, the operator N ρ is invertible and is equal to 1 up to a BRST-trivial quantity. So unlike the linearized equation of motion Y Y-bar QV = 0 which requires truncation of the Hilbert space in order to imply QV = 0, the linearized equation N ρ QV = 0 directly implies QV = 0.

  9. High-pressure synthesis of fully occupied tetragonal and cubic tungsten bronze oxides

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ikeuchi, Yuya; Takatsu, Hiroshi; Tassel, Cedric; Goto, Yoshihiro; Murakami, Taito; Kageyama, Hiroshi [Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University (Japan)

    2017-05-15

    A high-pressure reaction yielded the fully occupied tetragonal tungsten bronze K{sub 3}W{sub 5}O{sub 15} (K{sub 0.6}WO{sub 3}). The terminal phase shows an unusual transport property featuring slightly negative temperature-dependence in resistivity (dρ/dT<0) and a large Wilson ratio of R{sub W}=3.2. Such anomalous metallic behavior possibly arises from the low-dimensional electronic structure with a van Hove singularity at the Fermi level and/or from enhanced magnetic fluctuations by geometrical frustration of the tungsten sublattice. The asymmetric nature of the tetragonal tungsten bronze K{sub x}WO{sub 3}-K{sub 0.6-y}Ba{sub y}WO{sub 3} phase diagram implies that superconductivity for x≤0.45 originates from the lattice instability because of potassium deficiency. A cubic perovskite KWO{sub 3} phase was also identified as a line phase - in marked contrast to Na{sub x}WO{sub 3} and Li{sub x}WO{sub 3} with varying quantities of x (<1). This study presents a versatile method by which the solubility limit of tungsten bronze oxides can be extended. (copyright 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  10. Silica-gel structural characterization during the initial phases of gelation and drying; Caracterizacao estrutural de geis de silica durante as etapas iniciais de gelacao e secagem

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ferreira, Max Passos

    1997-12-31

    For centuries, glasses and ceramics have been made via melting or solid state reactions at temperatures above 100 deg C. The sol-gel process offers new approaches to the synthesis of glasses and ceramics, combining control of composition and structure at the molecular level with the ability to shape materials in bulk, powder, fiber and thin-film forms. The growth of sol-gel technology research is due to the many unique features of that class of materials. Major applications include optical elements and integrated optical devices, ceramic filters, membranes, supercondutors, magnetic, catalytic and manostructured materials to antioxidant, anticorrosion coatings and composite and biomedical materials. In this work a variety of techniques like spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, light scattering nuclear magnetic resonance, X ray diffraction and nitrogen adsorption have been employed to investigate the initial phase of the sol-gel transition of gamma ray irradiated tetramethoxysilane (TMOS) solutions and non-irradiated TMOS solution and to get information about the structure of the silica gels obtained under different gelation conditions. Typically the tetramethoxysilane solutions were prepared using a molar ratio of TMOS to demineralized water of 1 to 16. Some experiments were made under catalysed conditions. The mixing was carried out at room temperature. The turbidity and light scattering experiments on the polycondensation of tetramethoxysilane show that exists no drastic difference in the gelling time of a gamma ray irradiated and a non-irradiated TMOS+H{sub 2}O (1+16 M) solution. In the absence of a catalyst, the gelling time for both reactions occurs in about 3.30 h. When HNO{sub 3} (o.03 M) was used, the gelling time observed was 3 days. Raman and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy show no drastic difference during the initial phase at the sol-gel transition under ambient temperature/pressure and under gamma radiation. The gels

  11. Silica-gel structural characterization during the initial phases of gelation and drying; Caracterizacao estrutural de geis de silica durante as etapas iniciais de gelacao e secagem

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ferreira, Max Passos

    1996-12-31

    For centuries, glasses and ceramics have been made via melting or solid state reactions at temperatures above 100 deg C. The sol-gel process offers new approaches to the synthesis of glasses and ceramics, combining control of composition and structure at the molecular level with the ability to shape materials in bulk, powder, fiber and thin-film forms. The growth of sol-gel technology research is due to the many unique features of that class of materials. Major applications include optical elements and integrated optical devices, ceramic filters, membranes, supercondutors, magnetic, catalytic and manostructured materials to antioxidant, anticorrosion coatings and composite and biomedical materials. In this work a variety of techniques like spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, light scattering nuclear magnetic resonance, X ray diffraction and nitrogen adsorption have been employed to investigate the initial phase of the sol-gel transition of gamma ray irradiated tetramethoxysilane (TMOS) solutions and non-irradiated TMOS solution and to get information about the structure of the silica gels obtained under different gelation conditions. Typically the tetramethoxysilane solutions were prepared using a molar ratio of TMOS to demineralized water of 1 to 16. Some experiments were made under catalysed conditions. The mixing was carried out at room temperature. The turbidity and light scattering experiments on the polycondensation of tetramethoxysilane show that exists no drastic difference in the gelling time of a gamma ray irradiated and a non-irradiated TMOS+H{sub 2}O (1+16 M) solution. In the absence of a catalyst, the gelling time for both reactions occurs in about 3.30 h. When HNO{sub 3} (o.03 M) was used, the gelling time observed was 3 days. Raman and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy show no drastic difference during the initial phase at the sol-gel transition under ambient temperature/pressure and under gamma radiation. The gels

  12. Unexpected Inflammatory Effects of Intravaginal Gels (Universal Placebo Gel and Nonoxynol-9 on the Upper Female Reproductive Tract: A Randomized Crossover Study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karen Smith-McCune

    Full Text Available Intravaginal anti-HIV microbicides could provide women with a self-controlled means for HIV prevention, but results from clinical trials have been largely disappointing. We postulated that unrecognized effects of intravaginal gels on the upper female reproductive tract might contribute to the lower-than-expected efficacy of HIV microbicides. Our objective was to study the effects of intravaginal gels on the immune microenvironment of the cervix and uterus. In this randomized crossover study, 27 healthy female volunteers used a nightly application of intravaginal nonoxynol-9 (N9 gel as a "failed" microbicide or the universal placebo gel (UPG as a "safe" gel (intervention cycles, or nothing (control cycle from the end of menses to the mid-luteal phase. At a specific time-point following ovulation, all participants underwent sample collection for measurements of T-cell phenotypes, gene expression, and cytokine/chemokine protein concentrations from 3 anatomic sites above the vagina: the cervical transformation zone, the endocervix and the endometrium. We used hierarchical statistical models to estimate mean (95% CI intervention effects, for N9 and UPG relative to control. Exposure to N9 gel and UPG generated a common "harm signal" that included transcriptional up-regulation of inflammatory genes chemokine (C-C motif ligand 20 (macrophage inflammatory factor-3alpha and interleukin 8 in the cervix, decreased protein concentrations of secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor, and transcriptional up-regulation of inflammatory mediators glycodelin-A and osteopontin in the endometrium. These results need to be replicated with a larger sample, but underscore the need to consider the effects of microbicide agents and gel excipients on the upper female reproductive tract in studies of vaginal microbicides.

  13. Phase evaluation of Li{sup +} substituted CoFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} nanoparticles, their characterizations and magnetic properties

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kadam, R.H. [Materials Science Research Lab, Shrikrishna Mahavidyalaya Gunjoti, Osmanabad, Maharashtra (India); Alone, Suresh T. [Department of Physics, RS Art' s, Science and Commerce College, Pathri, Aurangabad, Maharashtra (India); Mane, Maheshkumar L. [Department of Physics, Rajarshi Shahu Mahavidyalaya, Latur, Maharashtra (India); Biradar, A.R. [Materials Science Research Lab, Shrikrishna Mahavidyalaya Gunjoti, Osmanabad, Maharashtra (India); Shirsath, Sagar E., E-mail: shirsathsagar@hotmail.com [Spin Device Technology Center, Department of Information Engineering, Shinshu University, Nagano 380-8553 (Japan)

    2014-04-15

    Li{sup +} substituted CoFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} with the chemical formula Li{sub 3x}CoFe{sub 2−x}O{sub 4} were synthesized by sol–gel auto combustion method. The synthesized samples were annealed at 600 °C for 4 h. X-ray diffraction data were used to evaluate the structure of the prepared samples. Spinel ferrite phase of CoFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} changes to ordered like lithium ferrite phase with increase in L{sup i+} substitution. Lattice constant increases whereas particle size found to decrease with Li{sup +} substitution. Infrared spectroscopy also confirmed the phase transition of CoFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} after the incorporation of lithium ions. Substitution of Li{sup +} ions for Fe{sup 3+} caused a decrease in the saturation magnetization from 69.59 emu/g to 47.71 emu/g and the coercivity increased from 647 Oe to 802 Oe. Resistivity and dielectric properties shows inverse relation to each other. - Highlights: • Li{sup +} ion substituted CoFe{sub 2}O{sub 4}. • Single phase cubic spinel structure changes with Li{sup +} substitution. • Magnetization decreases whereas coercivity increases with increasing Li{sup +}. • Resistivity decreases with Li{sup +} substitution.

  14. Synthesising and comparing electrical properties of NTC thermistors prepared from nano powder and solid state reaction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Azad, N.; Ghanbari Shohany, B.; Hosseini, S. M.; Kompany, A.

    2011-01-01

    In this research, NTC thermistors with composition of NiMn 2-x Co x O 4 (x = 0.4, 0.8, 1.2, 1.6) prepared by two methods: solid state reaction and sol-gel (gel-combustion). The average particle size was monitored and structure of the calcinated powders have been investigated using x-ray diffraction and tunneling electron microscopy techniques. The average particle size was estimated to be about 65 nm with the cubic and cubic + tetragonal phases for low and high cobalt concentrations, respectively. The grain size of samples verifies with scanning electron microscopy images. Upon increasing the cobalt fraction, the grain size of samples increases from about 2μm to a few μm in size. The electrical properties of these thermistors depend on the grain size. The grain size of samples made from sol-gel is smaller than from solid state reaction under the same condition. For longer sintering time of the samples prepared by gel-combustion method, the grain size was increased then the electrical parameters of nano powder improved and we obtain better results than the samples prepared from solid state reaction.

  15. Computation of Phase Equilibrium and Phase Envelopes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ritschel, Tobias Kasper Skovborg; Jørgensen, John Bagterp

    formulate the involved equations in terms of the fugacity coefficients. We present expressions for the first-order derivatives. Such derivatives are necessary in computationally efficient gradient-based methods for solving the vapor-liquid equilibrium equations and for computing phase envelopes. Finally, we......In this technical report, we describe the computation of phase equilibrium and phase envelopes based on expressions for the fugacity coefficients. We derive those expressions from the residual Gibbs energy. We consider 1) ideal gases and liquids modeled with correlations from the DIPPR database...... and 2) nonideal gases and liquids modeled with cubic equations of state. Next, we derive the equilibrium conditions for an isothermal-isobaric (constant temperature, constant pressure) vapor-liquid equilibrium process (PT flash), and we present a method for the computation of phase envelopes. We...

  16. Numbers for reducible cubic scrolls

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Israel Vainsencher

    2004-12-01

    Full Text Available We show how to compute the number of reducible cubic scrolls of codimension 2 in (math blackboard symbol Pn incident to the appropriate number of linear spaces.Mostramos como calcular o número de rolos cúbicos redutíveis de codimensão 2 em (math blackboard symbol Pn incidentes a espaços lineares apropriados.

  17. Multilayer gyroid cubic membrane organization in green alga Zygnema.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhan, Ting; Lv, Wenhua; Deng, Yuru

    2017-09-01

    Biological cubic membranes (CM), which are fluid membranes draped onto the 3D periodic parallel surface geometries with cubic symmetry, have been observed within subcellular organelles, including mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, and thylakoids. CM transition tends to occur under various stress conditions; however, multilayer CM organizations often appear associated with light stress conditions. This report is about the characterization of a projected gyroid CM in a transmission electron microscopy study of the chloroplast membranes within green alga Zygnema (LB923) whose lamellar form of thylakoid membrane started to fold into multilayer gyroid CM in the culture at the end of log phase of cell growth. Using the techniques of computer simulation of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and a direct template matching method, we show that these CM are based on the gyroid parallel surfaces. The single, double, and multilayer gyroid CM morphologies are observed in which space is continuously divided into two, three, and more subvolumes by either one, two, or several parallel membranes. The gyroid CM are continuous with varying amount of pseudo-grana with lamellar-like morphology. The relative amount and order of these two membrane morphologies seem to vary with the age of cell culture and are insensitive to ambient light condition. In addition, thylakoid gyroid CM continuously interpenetrates the pyrenoid body through stalk, bundle-like, morphologies. Inside the pyrenoid body, the membranes re-folded into gyroid CM. The appearance of these CM rearrangements due to the consequence of Zygnema cell response to various types of environmental stresses will be discussed. These stresses include nutrient limitation, temperature fluctuation, and ultraviolet (UV) exposure.

  18. Structural, magnetic and electrical properties of nickel doped Mn-Zn spinel ferrite synthesized by sol-gel method

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jalaiah, K., E-mail: kjalu4u@gmail.com [Department of Physics, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam 530003 (India); Vijaya Babu, K. [Advanced Analytical Laboratory, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam 530003 (India)

    2017-02-01

    Manganese ferrites (MnFe{sub 2}O{sub 4}) have been of great interest for their remarkable and soft-magnetic properties (low coercivity, moderate saturation magnetization) accompanied by good chemical stability and mechanical hardness. X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed the presence of single phase cubic spinel ferrite with space group Fm3m for all prepared samples. Structural parameters such as lattice constant, crystallite size were calculated from the studies of X-ray diffraction. The morphological analysis of all the compounds is studied using scanning electron microscope. The magnetic properties were measured using electron spin resonance (ESR) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The results obtained showed the formation of manganese ferrites with an average particle size are in good agreement with previous results and displayed good magnetic properties. The dielectric and impedance properties are studied over a frequency range 20 Hz–1 MHz at room temperature. - Highlights: • We prepared Mn{sub 0.85}Zn{sub 0.15}Ni{sub x}Fe{sub 2}O{sub 4} (x=0.03, 0.06, 0.09, 0.12 and 0.15) nano-ferrite materials by using sol-gel method. • All the compounds characterized by XRD, SEM, VSM, ESR and dielectric studies. • We get lower coercivity values. • We get good results from ESR spectra.

  19. Sol-gel preparation of cobalt manganese mixed oxides for their use as electrode materials in lithium cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lavela, P.; Tirado, J.L.; Vidal-Abarca, C.

    2007-01-01

    An ethanol dehydration procedure has been used to precipitate gel-like citrate precursors containing cobalt and manganese transition metal ions. Further annealing led to the Mn x Co 3-x O 4 spinel oxide series (x: 1, 1.5, 2, 3). Annealing temperature and treatment time were also evaluated to optimize the performance of the oxides as active electrode materials in lithium cells. The manganese-cobalt mixed oxides obtained by this procedure were cubic or tetragonal phases depending on the cobalt content. SEM images showed spherical macroporous aggregates for MnCo 2 O 4 and hollow spheres for manganese oxides. The galvanostatic cycling of lithium cells assembled with these materials demonstrated a simultaneous reduction of cobalt and manganese during the first discharge and separation of cobalt- and manganese-based products on further cycling. As compared with binary manganese oxides, a notorious electrochemical improvement was observed in the mixed oxides. This behavior is a consequence of the synergistic effect of both transition metal elements, associated with the in-situ formation of a nanocomposite electrode material when cobalt is introduced in the manganese oxide composition. Values higher than 400 mAh/g were sustained after 50 cycles for MnCo 2 O 4

  20. Yield of reversible colloidal gels during flow start-up: release from kinetic arrest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Lilian C; Landrum, Benjamin J; Zia, Roseanna N

    2018-06-05

    Yield of colloidal gels during start-up of shear flow is characterized by an overshoot in shear stress that accompanies changes in network structure. Prior studies of yield of reversible colloidal gels undergoing strong flow model the overshoot as the point at which network rupture permits fluidization. However, yield under weak flow, which is of interest in many biological and industrial fluids shows no such disintegration. The mechanics of reversible gels are influenced by bond strength and durability, where ongoing rupture and re-formation impart aging that deepens kinetic arrest [Zia et al., J. Rheol., 2014, 58, 1121], suggesting that yield be viewed as release from kinetic arrest. To explore this idea, we study reversible colloidal gels during start-up of shear flow via dynamic simulation, connecting rheological yield to detailed measurements of structure, bond dynamics, and potential energy. We find that pre-yield stress grows temporally with the changing roles of microscopic transport processes: early time behavior is set by Brownian diffusion; later, advective displacements permit relative particle motion that stretches bonds and stores energy. Stress accumulates in stretched, oriented bonds until yield, which is a tipping point to energy release, and is passed with a fully intact network, where the loss of very few bonds enables relaxation of many, easing glassy arrest. This is immediately followed by a reversal to growth in potential energy during bulk plastic deformation and condensation into larger particle domains, supporting the view that yield is an activated release from kinetic arrest. The continued condensation of dense domains and shrinkage of network surfaces, along with a decrease in the potential energy, permit the gel to evolve toward more complete phase separation, supporting our view that yield of weakly sheared gels is a 'non-equilibrium phase transition'. Our findings may be particularly useful for industrial or other coatings, where weak

  1. Transport Phenomena in Gel

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Masayuki Tokita

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Gel becomes an important class of soft materials since it can be seen in a wide variety of the chemical and the biological systems. The unique properties of gel arise from the structure, namely, the three-dimensional polymer network that is swollen by a huge amount of solvent. Despite the small volume fraction of the polymer network, which is usually only a few percent or less, gel shows the typical properties that belong to solids such as the elasticity. Gel is, therefore, regarded as a dilute solid because its elasticity is much smaller than that of typical solids. Because of the diluted structure, small molecules can pass along the open space of the polymer network. In addition to the viscous resistance of gel fluid, however, the substance experiences resistance due to the polymer network of gel during the transport process. It is, therefore, of importance to study the diffusion of the small molecules in gel as well as the flow of gel fluid itself through the polymer network of gel. It may be natural to assume that the effects of the resistance due to the polymer network of gel depends strongly on the network structure. Therefore, detailed study on the transport processes in and through gel may open a new insight into the relationship between the structure and the transport properties of gel. The two typical transport processes in and through gel, that is, the diffusion of small molecules due to the thermal fluctuations and the flow of gel fluid that is caused by the mechanical pressure gradient will be reviewed.

  2. Effect of vanadium on the obtaining of the titanium dioxide by Sol-Gel Method; Efeito do vanadio na obtencao de dioxido de titanio pelo Metodo Sol-Gel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Granado, S.R.; Silva, D.W.; Lopes, S.A.; Cavalheiro, A.A., E-mail: sandrogranado02@gmail.com [Universidade Estadual de Mato Grosso do Sul (CPTREN/UEMS), Navirai, MS (Brazil). Centro de Pesquisas Tecnologicas em Recursos Naturais

    2011-07-01

    The obtaining of transition metal modified titanium dioxide (TiO{sub 2}) can be a promising path to promote changes in crystal structure of anatase phase in order to displace the band gap toward frequencies near to visible region. The insertion of the heterovalent ions such as vanadium can be shift the titanium coordination number in the anatase matrix, leading to important changes in the photonic characteristics of the material. In Sol-Gel method, the presence of the non alkoxide precursors can affects the stability of the solution and the gelifying process, with consequences on the characteristics of the material. In this work, it was investigated the effect of 5mol% of vanadium by thermal analysis of the dried gel and XRD and adsorption isotherm in the samples obtained at different temperatures. The decomposition steps of the precursor were associated to phase formation in the material, leading to conclusion that the presence of vanadium affects the stability of anatase phase. (author)

  3. Structure and amphoteric properties of titanium dioxide gels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kertesz, C.

    1991-01-01

    Mechanisms responsible for the in-solution ion retention by titanium dioxide are studied. Mineral oxide gel formation and structure are described and various titanium dioxide gel synthesis modes are presented. A two-phase model, taking into account the porous nature of the solid and allowing for the application of the mass action law, is adopted. The oxide amphoteric properties are studied with the potentiometric titration technique. Hysteresis loops are imputed to the slowness of the acid-basic neutralization reaction. The main characteristics are determined: isoelectric point, cation and anion retention capacity. Depending on the suspension agitation, the speed limiting factor may be the diffusion in the film or the diffusion in the particle. 60 fig., 128 ref

  4. Experimental evidence of body centered cubic iron in Earth's core

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hrubiak, R.; Meng, Y.; Shen, G.

    2017-12-01

    The Earth's core is mainly composed of iron. While seismic evidence has shown a liquid outer core and a solid inner core, the crystalline nature of the solid iron at the core condition remains debated, largely due to the difficulties in experimental determination of exact polymorphs at corresponding pressure-temperature conditions. We have examined crystal structures of iron up to 220 GPa and 6000 K with x-ray diffraction using a double-sided laser heating system at HPCAT, Advanced Photon Source. The iron sample is confined in a small chamber surrounded by single crystal MgO. The laser power can be modulated together with temperature measurements. The modulated heating of iron in an MgO single crystal matrix allows for microstructure analysis during heating and after the sample is quenched. We present experimental evidence of a body-centered-cubic (BCC) iron from about 100 GPa and 3000 K to at least 220 GPa and 4000 K. The observed BCC phase may be consistent with a theoretically predicted BCC phase that is dynamically stable in similar pressure-temperature conditions [1]. We will discuss the stability region of the BCC phase and the melting curve of iron and their implications in the nature of the Earth's inner core. References: A. B. Belonoshko et al., Nat. Geosci., 1-6 (2017).

  5. Heat capacities, third-law entropies and thermodynamic functions of the negative thermal expansion materials, cubic {alpha}-ZrW{sub 2}O{sub 8} and cubic ZrMo{sub 2}O{sub 8}, from T=(0 to 400) K

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stevens, Rebecca; Linford, Jessica; Woodfield, Brian F.; Boerio-Goates, Juliana. E-mail: boerio-goates@byu.edu; Lind, Cora; Wilkinson, Angus P.; Kowach, Glen

    2003-06-01

    The molar heat capacities of crystalline cubic {alpha}-ZrW{sub 2}O{sub 8} and cubic ZrMo{sub 2}O{sub 8} have been measured at temperatures from (0.6 to 400) K. At T=298.15 K, the standard molar heat capacities are (207.01{+-}0.21) J{center_dot}K{sup -1}{center_dot}mol{sup -1} for the tungstate and (210.06{+-}0.42) J{center_dot}K{sup -1}{center_dot}mol{sup -1} for the molybdate. Thermodynamic functions have been generated from smoothed fits of the experimental results. The standard molar entropies for the tungstate and molybdate are (257.96{+-}0.50) J{center_dot}K{sup -1}{center_dot}mol{sup -1} and (254.3{+-}1) J{center_dot}K{sup -1}{center_dot}mol{sup -1}, respectively. The uncertainty of the entropy of the cubic ZrMo{sub 2}O{sub 8} is larger due to the presence of small chemical and phase impurities whose effects cannot be corrected for at this time. The heat capacities of the negative thermal expansion materials have been compared to the weighted sums of their constituent binary oxides. Both negative thermal expansion materials have heat capacities which are significantly greater than the sum of the binary oxides over the entire temperature region.

  6. Modeling the dispersion of atmospheric pollution using cubic splines and chapeau functions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pepper, D W; Kern, C D; Long, P E

    1979-01-01

    Two methods that can be used to solve complex, three-dimensional, advection-diffusion transport equations are investigated. A quasi-Lagrangian cubic spline method and a chapeau function method are compared in advecting a passive scalar. The methods are simple to use, computationally fast, and reasonably accurate. Little numerical dissipation is manifested by the schemes. In simple advection tests with equal mesh spacing, the chapeau function method maintains slightly more accurate peak values than the cubic spline method. In tests with unequal mesh spacing, the cubic spline method has less noise, but slightly more damping than the standard chapeau method has. Both cubic splines and chapeau functions can be used to solve the three-dimensional problem of gaseous emissions dispersion without excessive programing complexity or storage requirements. (10 diagrams, 39 references, 2 tables)

  7. Unified treatment of coupled optical and acoustic phonons in piezoelectric cubic materials

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Willatzen, Morten; Wang, Zhong Lin

    2015-01-01

    A unified treatment of coupled optical and acoustic phonons in piezoelectric cubic materials is presented whereby the lattice displacement vector and the internal ionic displacement vector are found simultaneously. It is shown that phonon couplings exist in pairs only; either between the electric...... piezoelectricity in a cubic structured material slab. First, it is shown that isolated optical phonon modes generally cannot exist in piezoelectric cubic slabs. Second, we prove that confined acousto-optical phonon modes only exist for a discrete set of in-plane wave numbers in piezoelectric cubic slabs. Third...... potential and the lattice displacement coordinate perpendicular to the phonon wave vector or between the two other lattice displacement components. The former leads to coupled acousto-optical phonons by virtue of the piezoelectric effect. We then establish three new conjectures that entirely stem from...

  8. In situ observation of sol-gel transition of agarose aqueous solution by fluorescence measurement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Zheng; Yang, Kun; Li, Haining; Yuan, Chaosheng; Zhu, Xiang; Huang, Haijun; Wang, Yongqiang; Su, Lei; Fang, Yapeng

    2018-06-01

    Sol-gel transition behavior of agarose aqueous solution was investigated by using rheology and fluorescence measurement. On heating, the storage modulus G' decreased gradually, then deviated abruptly at the temperature of about 65°C, and finally decreased slowly again. For fluorescence measurement, the phase transition point kept almost at the temperature of 65°C, which was consistent with that in rheology measurement. Upon compression, it was indicated that the fluorescence lifetime for the probe in the agarose aqueous solution showed a dramatic change in the vicinity of the phase transition point. T vs. P phase diagram of agarose aqueous solution was constructed, which showed that the melting point was an increasing function of pressure. Based on the phase diagram, the agarose gels were prepared by cooling under atmospheric pressure and the pressure of 300MPa, respectively. From the result of the recovered samples studied by optical rheometry, it was found that agarose gel prepared under high pressure had a higher elasticity and lower viscosity index, compared with that under atmospheric pressure. It could be speculated that such kinds of properties might be attributed to the smaller pore size during gelation under high pressure. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  9. Fabrication and Crystal Structure of Sol-Gel Deposited BST Thin Films with Compositional Gradient

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Czekaj D.

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available In the present research technology of compositionally graded barium strontium titanate Ba1-xSrxTiO3 thin films deposited on stainless steel substrates by sol-gel spin coating followed with thermal annealing at T = 650°C is reported. Results of thermal behavior of the sol-gel derived powders with compositions used for fabrication of graded structure (i.e. with Sr mole fraction x = 0.5, 0.4 and 0.3 are described. X-ray diffraction studies of the phase composition and crystal structure of such complex thin film configuration are given. It was found that gel powders exhibited a large total weight loss of about Δm ≈ 44-47%. Three stages of weight loss took place at temperature ranges: below T ≈ 300°C, at ΔT ≈ 300-500°C and between T = 600°C and T = 800°C. Phase analysis has shown that the dominating phase is Ba0.67Sr0.33TiO3 compound while the second phase is Ba0.7Sr0.3TiO3 or Ba0.5Sr0.5TiO3 for “up-graded” and “down-graded” structure, respectively.

  10. Binary interaction parameters for nonpolar systems with cubic equations of state: a theoretical approach 1. CO2/hydrocarbons using SRK equation of state

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Coutinho, João A.P.; Kontogeorgis, Georgios M.; Stenby, Erling H.

    1994-01-01

    This work shows that, when suitable theoretically based combining rules are used for the cross energy and cross co-volume parameters, cubic equations of state (EoS) with the van der Waals one-fluid mixing rules can adequately represent phase equilibria for the asymmetric CO2/hydrocarbon mixtures...... for the prediction of phase behavior of petroleum fluids. A brief theoretical analysis on the temperature dependency of the Kij interaction parameter is also presented....

  11. Study of transformations by annealing of the body. Centred cubic {gamma} phase of uranium-molybdenum alloys; Etude des transformations par revenu de la phase {gamma} cubique centree des alliages uranium-molybdene

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mikailoff, H [Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique, Saclay (France). Centre d' Etudes Nucleaires

    1959-06-15

    By annealing at different temperatures, we have studied the transformations of the body centred cubic {gamma} phase for two alloys containing 6 and 10 per cent molybdenum by weight respectively. There is a return to the equilibrium state by formation of the stable {alpha} orthorhombic and {epsilon} ordered tetragonal phases, following two types of reaction: - pearlite transformation by nucleation and growth from the grain boundaries, preponderant when the annealing takes place at temperature above 400 deg. C, and identical for the two types of alloys. This reaction has already been studied by numerous authors, who have constructed the corresponding TTT curves, - transformation inside the grains of the quenched solid solution when annealing takes place at 400 deg. C or below: 6 per cent alloy - precipitation of fine a phase particles, followed by progressive ordering of the solid solution enriched in molybdenum, 10 per cent alloy - formation of small ordered regions and then a fine a phase precipitate. In the course of this work we have paid particular attention to the study of intragranular reactions after low-temperature annealing, the reactions involved in this case not having been explained up to the present. The {gamma} phase transformation has been studied by means of three techniques: micrography - microhardness tests - X-ray diffraction. (author) [French] Nous avons etudie les transformations par revenu a differentes temperatures, de la phase {gamma} cubique centree des alliages U-Mo trempes, pour deux alliages a 6 et a 10 pour cent de molybdene en poids. Il y a retour a l'etat d'equilibre par formation des phases stables {alpha} orthorhombique et quadratique ordonnee, suivant deux types de reactions: - transformation perlitique par germination et croissance a partir des joints de grains, preponderante lorsque le recuit a lieu a temperature superieure a 400 deg. C, et identique pour les deux types d'alliages. Cette reaction a deja ete etudiee par de nombreux

  12. Investigation of phase stability in the scandia-zirconia; Investigacao da estabilidade de fases da zirconia-escandia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Grosso, Robson Lopes

    2016-11-01

    In this work, the phase stability of scandia-zirconia (ScSZ) system was investigated by the thermodynamic study of nanoparticles, within the range of 0 to 20 mol% Sc{sub 2}O{sub 3}, and by codoping of ZrO{sub 2}-10 mol% Sc{sub 2}O{sub 3} (10ScSZ) with Dy{sub 2}O{sub 3} and Nb{sub 2}O{sub 5}. The phase stability of ScSZ was evaluated based on thermodynamic data collected by water adsorption microcalorimetry and high temperature oxide melt solution. Nanostructured zirconia-scandia solid solutions were synthesized by coprecipitation method. Thermodynamic data were determined for ScSZ polymorph (monoclinic, tetragonal, cubic, rhombohedral β and γ) found by X-ray diffraction. This systemic work resulted in an unprecedented phase diagram at the nanoscale of particle size-composition. The effects of additives on 10ScSZ were investigated aiming to stabilize the cubic (c) structure at room temperature and to suppress the characteristic cubic-rhombohedral β phase transformation. Compositions were prepared by coprecipitation and solid state reaction. Materials were sintered by conventional and spark plasma sintering. Full stabilization of the cubic phase was attained by 1 mol% Dy{sub 2}O{sub 3} and 0.5 mol% Nb{sub 2}O{sub 5} additions. The smallest Nb{sub 2}O{sub 5} content required for cubic phase stabilization was attributed to liquid phase formation during sintering and to small ionic radius of Nb{sup 5+}. Results of high temperature X-ray diffraction and thermal analysis show suppression of the c-β transformation. Samples containing 0.5 mol% Nb{sub 2}O{sub 5} show total ionic conductivity similar to 10ScSZ without additives within a broad temperature range with high stability during 170 h at 600 °C. (author)

  13. Highly dispersed spherical Bi{sub 3.25}La{sub 0.75}Ti{sub 3}O{sub 12} nanocrystals via topotactic crystallization of aggregation-free gel particles from an effective inverse miniemulsion sol–gel approach

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Aijun; Zeng, Yanwei, E-mail: zengyw-njut@126.com, E-mail: stephen-zeng@njtech.edu.cn, E-mail: stephen-zeng@163.com; Han, Longxiang; Ding, Chuan; Cao, Liangliang; Li, Rongjie [Nanjing Tech University, State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering, College of Materials Science and Engineering (China)

    2015-09-15

    Aggregation-free spherical lanthanum-doped bismuth titanate (Bi{sub 3.25}La{sub 0.75}Ti{sub 3}O{sub 12}, BLT) gel particles with an average size of about 150 nm were successfully obtained from an inverse miniemulsion sol–gel process, with Span-80 acting as surfactant, n-butanol as co-surfactant, cyclohexane as continuous phase, and submicro-droplets of aqueous solution containing Bi{sup 3+}, La{sup 3+} and Ti{sup 4+} ions as dispersed phase, and then topotactically transformed into highly dispersed spherical BLT nanocrystals after an in situ crystallization at 600 °C for 8 h. It has been found that the BLT gel particles can be obtained via a moderate sol–gel reaction inside the miniemulsion droplets at 65 °C, but their morphology and aggregation degree are strongly affected by the relative amounts of Span-80 and n-butanol. The perfect spherical BLT gel particles with no aggregation can be achieved only under the condition of 3 wt% n-butanol relative to the mass of cyclohexane, with excessive amount of n-butanol leading to the formation of ill-gelled particles with irregular shapes, while insufficient addition of n-butanol resulting in terrible aggregation of gel particles. To understand the formation of aggregation-free spherical BLT gel particles, a tentative mechanism is proposed and discussed, which reveals that a well-coordinated oil–water interfacial film made up of Span-80 and n-butanol molecules and the appropriately enhanced evaporation of water from such interfaces should be responsible for the formation of aggregation-free spherical BLT gel particles. Graphical Abstract: Aggregation-free spherical BLT (Bi{sub 3.25}La{sub 0.75}Ti{sub 3}O{sub 12}) gel particles can be prepared from an effective inverse miniemulsion sol–gel process, and subsequently topotactically transformed into spherical BLT nanocrystals through an in situ crystallization.

  14. Polarization Change in Face-Centered Cubic Opal Films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolff, Christian; Romanov, Sergei; Küchenmeister, Jens; Peschel, Ulf; Busch, Kurt

    2011-10-01

    Artificial opals are a popular platform for investigating fundamental properties of Photonic Crystals (PhC). In this work, we provide a theoretical analysis of polarization-resolved transmission experiments through thin opal films. Despite the full cubic symmetry of the PhC, this system provides a very efficient mechanism for manipulating the polarization state of light. Based on band structure calculations and Bloch mode analysis, we find that this effect closely resembles classical birefringence. Due to the cubic symmetry, however, a description using tensorial quantities is not possible. This indicates fundamental limitations of effective material models for Photonic Crystals and demonstrates the importance of accurately modelling the microscopic geometry of such systems.

  15. Comparison of DNA double-strand break rejoining as measured by pulsed field gel electrophoresis, neutral sucrose gradient centrifugation and non-unwinding filter elution in irradiated plateau-phase CHO cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iliakis, G.; Metzger, L.; Pantelias, G.

    1991-01-01

    The initial (up to 30 min) rate of DNA double-strand break (dsb) rejoining was measured in irradiated plateau-phase CHO cells, in a set of parallel experiments using the same cell suspension, by means of non-unwinding filter elution, neutral sucrose gradient centrifugation, and two pulsed-field gel electrophoresis assays: asymmetric field inversion gel electrophoresis (AFIGE) and clamped homogeneous electric field (CHEF) gel electrophoresis. The rate of DNA dsb rejoining was compared to the rate of rejoining of chromatin breaks measured, also in the same cell population, using the technique of premature chromosome condensation (PCC). Two radiation exposures, 25 Gy and/or 50 Gy, were used and applied to the individual parts of the experiments according to the sensitivity of the assay under investigation. The results suggest all major techniques currently used for assaying rejoining of DNA dsb give similar results, and indicate that more information is required before a direct correlation between rejoining of DNA dsb and rejoining of chromatin breaks can be established. (author)

  16. Sol-Gel Process for Making Pt-Ru Fuel-Cell Catalysts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Narayanan, Sekharipuram; Valdez, Thomas; Kumta, Prashant; Kim, Y.

    2005-01-01

    A sol-gel process has been developed as a superior alternative to a prior process for making platinum-ruthenium alloy catalysts for electro-oxidation of methanol in fuel cells. The starting materials in the prior process are chloride salts of platinum and ruthenium. The process involves multiple steps, is time-consuming, and yields a Pt-Ru product that has relatively low specific surface area and contains some chloride residue. Low specific surface area translates to incomplete utilization of the catalytic activity that might otherwise be available, while chloride residue further reduces catalytic activity ("poisons" the catalyst). In contrast, the sol-gel process involves fewer steps and less time, does not leave chloride residue, and yields a product of greater specific area and, hence, greater catalytic activity. In this sol-gel process (see figure), the starting materials are platinum(II) acetylacetonate [Pt(C5H7O2)2, also denoted Pt-acac] and ruthenium(III) acetylacetonate [Ru(C5H7O2)3, also denoted Ru-acac]. First, Pt-acac and Ru-acac are dissolved in acetone at the desired concentrations (typically, 0.00338 moles of each salt per 100 mL of acetone) at a temperature of 50 C. A solution of 25 percent tetramethylammonium hydroxide [(CH3)4NOH, also denoted TMAH] in methanol is added to the Pt-acac/Ruacac/ acetone solution to act as a high-molecular-weight hydrolyzing agent. The addition of the TMAH counteracts the undesired tendency of Pt-acac and Ru-acac to precipitate as separate phases during the subsequent evaporation of the solvent, thereby helping to yield a desired homogeneous amorphous gel. The solution is stirred for 10 minutes, then the solvent is evaporated until the solution becomes viscous, eventually transforming into a gel. The viscous gel is dried in air at a temperature of 170 C for about 10 hours. The dried gel is crushed to make a powder that is the immediate precursor of the final catalytic product. The precursor powder is converted to the

  17. Phase boundary between cubic B1 and rhombohedral structures in (Mg,Fe)O magnesiowüstite determined by in situ X-ray diffraction measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dymshits, Anna M.; Litasov, Konstantin D.; Shatskiy, Anton; Chanyshev, Artem D.; Podborodnikov, Ivan V.; Higo, Yuji

    2018-01-01

    The phase relations and equation of state of (Mg0.08Fe0.92)O magnesiowüstite (Mw92) have been studied using the Kawai-type high-pressure apparatus coupled with synchrotron radiation. To determine the phase boundary between the NaCl-type cubic (B1) and rhombohedral ( rB1) structures in Mw92, in situ X-ray observations were carried out at pressures of 0-35 GPa and temperatures of 300-1473 K. Au and MgO were used as the internal pressure markers and metallic Fe as oxygen fugacity buffer. The phase boundary between B1 and rB1 structures was described by a linear equation P (GPa) = 1.6 + 0.033 × T (K). The Clapeyron slope (d P/d T) determined in this study is close to that obtained at pressures above 70 GPa but steeper than that obtained for FeO. An addition of MgO to FeO structure expands the stability field of the rB1 phase to lower pressures and higher temperatures. Thus, the rB1 phase may be stabilized with respect to the B1 phase at a lower pressures. The pressure-volume-temperature equation of state of B1-Mw92 was determined up to 30 GPa and 1473 K. Fitting the hydrostatic compression data up to 30 GPa with the Birch-Murnaghan equation of state (EoS) yielded: unit cell volume ( V 0, T0), 79.23 ± 4 Å3; bulk modulus ( K 0, T0), 183 ± 4 GPa; its pressure derivative ( K' T ), 4.1 ± 0.4; (∂ K 0, T /∂ T) = -0.029 ± 0.005 GPa K‒1; a = 3.70 ± 0.27 × 10-5 K-1 and b = 0.47 ± 0.49 × 10-8 K-2, where α0, T = a + bT is the volumetric thermal expansion coefficient. The obtained bulk modulus of Mw92 is very close to the value expected for stoichiometric iron-rich (Mg,Fe)O. This result confirms the idea that the bulk modulus of (Mg,Fe)O is greatly affected by the actual defect structure, caused by either Mg2+ or vacancies.

  18. Rotation-limited growth of three-dimensional body-centered-cubic crystals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tarp, Jens M; Mathiesen, Joachim

    2015-07-01

    According to classical grain growth laws, grain growth is driven by the minimization of surface energy and will continue until a single grain prevails. These laws do not take into account the lattice anisotropy and the details of the microscopic rearrangement of mass between grains. Here we consider coarsening of body-centered-cubic polycrystalline materials in three dimensions using the phase field crystal model. We observe, as a function of the quenching depth, a crossover between a state where grain rotation halts and the growth stagnates and a state where grains coarsen rapidly by coalescence through rotation and alignment of the lattices of neighboring grains. We show that the grain rotation per volume change of a grain follows a power law with an exponent of -1.25. The scaling exponent is consistent with theoretical considerations based on the conservation of dislocations.

  19. Effect on the structural, DC resistivity and magnetic properties of Zr and Cu co-SubstitutedNi0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4using sol-gel auto-combustion method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jalaiah, K.; Vijaya Babu, K.; Chandra mouli, K.; Subba Rao, P. S. V.

    2018-04-01

    The Zr and Cu co-substituted Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 ferrite nanoparticles have been synthesized by the sol-gel auto combustion method. The XRD patterns confirmed single phase cubic spinel structure for present ferrite systems. The substitution of co-dopants in the spinel structure initially decreases the lattice parameter from x = 0.00 to 0.08 and thereafter increases and the same tendency reflecting in cell volume. The DC resistivity was initially increased later followed the decreasing trend; however the drift mobility of all ferrite samples appears to be in opposite phenomenon to DC resistivity. The saturation magnetization and net magnetic moments of all ferrite samples are decreasing with increasing dopant concentration. The coercive field and Y-K angles are increased with dopant concentration. The initial permeability of all samples is decreased with increasing dopant concentration. The Q-Factor for all samples shows the narrow frequency band with increasing frequency.

  20. Spinor bose gases in cubic optical lattice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mobarak, Mohamed Saidan Sayed Mohamed

    2014-01-01

    In recent years the quantum simulation of condensed-matter physics problems has resulted from exciting experimental progress in the realm of ultracold atoms and molecules in optical lattices. In this thesis we analyze theoretically a spinor Bose gas loaded into a three-dimensional cubic optical lattice. In order to account for different superfluid phases of spin-1 bosons with a linear Zeeman effect, we work out a Ginzburg-Landau theory for the underlying spin-1 Bose-Hubbard model. To this end we add artificial symmetry-breaking currents to the spin-1 Bose-Hubbard Hamiltonian in order to break the global U (1) symmetry. With this we determine a diagrammatic expansion of the grand-canonical free energy up to fourth order in the symmetry-breaking currents and up to the leading non-trivial order in the hopping strength which is of first order. As a cross-check we demonstrate that the resulting grand-canonical free energy allows to recover the mean-field theory. Applying a Legendre transformation to the grand-canonical free energy, where the symmetry-breaking currents are transformed to order parameters, we obtain the effective Ginzburg-Landau action. With this we calculate in detail at zero temperature the Mott insulator-superfluid quantum phase boundary as well as condensate and particle number density in the superfluid phase. We find that both mean-field and Ginzburg-Landau theory yield the same quantum phase transition between the Mott insulator and superfluid phases, but the range of validity of the mean-field theory turns out to be smaller than that of the Ginzburg-Landau theory. Due to this finding we expect that the Ginzburg-Landau theory gives better results for the superfluid phase and, thus, we restrict ourselves to extremize only the effective Ginzburg-Landau action with respect to the order parameters. Without external magnetic field the superfluid phase is a polar (ferromagnetic) state for anti-ferromagnetic (ferromagnetic) interactions, i.e. only the

  1. Phase I randomized safety study of twice daily dosing of acidform vaginal gel: candidate antimicrobial contraceptive.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marla J Keller

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Acidform gel, an acid-buffering product that inactivates spermatozoa, may be an effective topical non-hormonal contraceptive. This study was designed to evaluate the safety of vaginal dosing and effects of Acidform on mucosal immune mediators, antimicrobial properties of genital secretions, and vaginal microbiota. METHODS: Thirty-six sexually abstinent U.S. women were randomized to apply Acidform or hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC placebo gel twice daily for 14 consecutive days. Safety was assessed by symptoms and pelvic examination. The impact of gel on mucosal immunity was assessed by quantifying cytokines, chemokines, antimicrobial proteins and antimicrobial activity of genital secretions collected by cervicovaginal lavage (CVL at screening, 2 hours after gel application, and on days 7, 14 and 21. Vaginal microbiota was characterized at enrollment and day 14 using species-specific quantitative PCR assays. RESULTS: The median vaginal and cervical pH was significantly lower 2 hours after application of Acidform and was associated with an increase in the bactericidal activity of CVL against E. coli. However, 65% of women who received Acidform had at least one local adverse event compared with 11% who received placebo (p = 0.002. While there was no increase in inflammatory cytokines or chemokines, CVL concentrations of lactoferrin and interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra, an anti-inflammatory protein, were significantly lower following Acidform compared to HEC placebo gel application. There were no significant changes in Lactobacillus crispatus or Lactobacillus jensenii in either group but there was a decrease in Gardnerella vaginalis in the Acidform group (p = 0.08. CONCLUSIONS: Acidform gel may augment mucosal defense as evidenced by an increase in bactericidal activity of genital secretions against E. coli and a decrease in Gardnerella vaginalis colonization. However, Acidform was associated with more irritation than

  2. Phase I Randomized Safety Study of Twice Daily Dosing of Acidform Vaginal Gel: Candidate Antimicrobial Contraceptive

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keller, Marla J.; Carpenter, Colleen A.; Lo, Yungtai; Einstein, Mark H.; Liu, Congzhou; Fredricks, David N.; Herold, Betsy C.

    2012-01-01

    Background Acidform gel, an acid-buffering product that inactivates spermatozoa, may be an effective topical non-hormonal contraceptive. This study was designed to evaluate the safety of vaginal dosing and effects of Acidform on mucosal immune mediators, antimicrobial properties of genital secretions, and vaginal microbiota. Methods Thirty-six sexually abstinent U.S. women were randomized to apply Acidform or hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC) placebo gel twice daily for 14 consecutive days. Safety was assessed by symptoms and pelvic examination. The impact of gel on mucosal immunity was assessed by quantifying cytokines, chemokines, antimicrobial proteins and antimicrobial activity of genital secretions collected by cervicovaginal lavage (CVL) at screening, 2 hours after gel application, and on days 7, 14 and 21. Vaginal microbiota was characterized at enrollment and day 14 using species-specific quantitative PCR assays. Results The median vaginal and cervical pH was significantly lower 2 hours after application of Acidform and was associated with an increase in the bactericidal activity of CVL against E. coli. However, 65% of women who received Acidform had at least one local adverse event compared with 11% who received placebo (p = 0.002). While there was no increase in inflammatory cytokines or chemokines, CVL concentrations of lactoferrin and interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra), an anti-inflammatory protein, were significantly lower following Acidform compared to HEC placebo gel application. There were no significant changes in Lactobacillus crispatus or Lactobacillus jensenii in either group but there was a decrease in Gardnerella vaginalis in the Acidform group (p = 0.08). Conclusions Acidform gel may augment mucosal defense as evidenced by an increase in bactericidal activity of genital secretions against E. coli and a decrease in Gardnerella vaginalis colonization. However, Acidform was associated with more irritation than placebo and lower levels

  3. Total Positivity of the Cubic Trigonometric Bézier Basis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xuli Han

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Within the general framework of Quasi Extended Chebyshev space, we prove that the cubic trigonometric Bézier basis with two shape parameters λ and μ given in Han et al. (2009 forms an optimal normalized totally positive basis for λ,μ∈(-2,1]. Moreover, we show that for λ=-2 or μ=-2 the basis is not suited for curve design from the blossom point of view. In order to compute the corresponding cubic trigonometric Bézier curves stably and efficiently, we also develop a new corner cutting algorithm.

  4. Hypersonic vibrations of Ag@SiO2 (cubic core)-shell nanospheres.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Jing Ya; Wang, Zhi Kui; Lim, Hock Siah; Ng, Ser Choon; Kuok, Meng Hau; Tran, Toan Trong; Lu, Xianmao

    2010-12-28

    The intriguing optical and catalytic properties of metal-silica core-shell nanoparticles, inherited from their plasmonic metallic cores together with the rich surface chemistry and increased stability offered by their silica shells, have enabled a wide variety of applications. In this work, we investigate the confined vibrational modes of a series of monodisperse Ag@SiO(2) (cubic core)-shell nanospheres synthesized using a modified Stöber sol-gel method. The particle-size dependence of their mode frequencies has been mapped by Brillouin light scattering, a powerful tool for probing hypersonic vibrations. Unlike the larger particles, the observed spheroidal-like mode frequencies of the smaller ones do not scale with inverse diameter. Interestingly, the onset of the deviation from this linearity occurs at a smaller particle size for higher-energy modes than for lower-energy ones. Finite element simulations show that the mode displacement profiles of the Ag@SiO(2) core-shells closely resemble those of a homogeneous SiO(2) sphere. Simulations have also been performed to ascertain the effects that the core shape and the relative hardness of the core and shell materials have on the vibrations of the core-shell as a whole. As the vibrational modes of a particle have a bearing on its thermal and mechanical properties, the findings would be of value in designing core-shell nanostructures with customized thermal and mechanical characteristics.

  5. Cubic rare-earth compounds: variants of the three-state Potts model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, D.; Levy, P.M.; Uffer, L.F.

    1975-01-01

    In appropriate cubic fields, rare-earth ions have sixfold degenerate ground states. When the angular momentum of the rare earth is large, the six levels are characterized by states that are directed along the cube edges. Within these states the angular momentum operators J/sub x/, J/sub y/, and J/sub z/ have particularly simple matrix representations. The projection of an isotropic pair coupling between the rare earths onto these sixfold degenerate states leads to an interaction Hamiltonian H = -I Σ/sub (ij)/ sigma/sub i/sigma/sub j/delta/sub l/sub i/sub l/sub j//, where sigma takes on the values +-1 and l the values x, y, and z. This interaction is a variant of the three-state Potts model. Magnetic and quadrupolar anisotropy field terms are added to the Hamiltonian and the symmetry properties of the phase diagram associated with this model are determined. For nonzero quadrupolar anisotropy fields, the model is shown to have the thermodynamic behavior of an Ising model. However, for zero fields a new symmetry appears and in the mean-field approximation the model has tricritical-like exponents. This simple model is able to account for the large specific-heat critical exponent α' = 1 / 2 which has been observed for holmium antimonide in zero external fields. To the extent that the mean-field approximation is an accurate guide, we predict there are many cubic rare-earth compounds which exhibit tricritical-like behavior in zero field. In addition, for pure quadrupole coupling between rare earths in the sixfold degenerate states, the interaction Hamiltonian is exactly the three-state Potts model. In the mean-field approximation this system has a first-order phase transition. However, a small quadrupolar anisotropy field is sufficient to drive the system to a wing critical point. The specific heat has a critical exponent of α = 2 / 3 or 1 depending on the path taken to approach this critical point. (auth)

  6. Membrane fusion and inverted phases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ellens, H.; Siegel, D.P.; Alford, D.; Yeagle, P.L.; Boni, L.; Lis, L.J.; Quinn, P.J.; Bentz, J.

    1989-01-01

    We have found a correlation between liposome fusion kinetics and lipid phase behavior for several inverted phase forming lipids. N-Methylated dioleoylphosphatidylethanolamine (DOPE-Me), or mixtures of dioleoylphosphatidylethanolamine (DOPE) and dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DOPC), will form an inverted hexagonal phase (HII) at high temperatures (above TH), a lamellar phase (L alpha) at low temperatures, and an isotropic/inverted cubic phase at intermediate temperatures, which is defined by the appearance of narrow isotropic 31 P NMR resonances. The phase behavior has been verified by using high-sensitivity DSC, 31 P NMR, freeze-fracture electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The temperature range over which the narrow isotropic resonances occur is defined as delta TI, and the range ends at TH. Extruded liposomes (approximately 0.2 microns in diameter) composed of these lipids show fusion and leakage kinetics which are strongly correlated with the temperatures of these phase transitions. At temperatures below delta TI, where the lipid phase is L alpha, there is little or no fusion, i.e., mixing of aqueous contents, or leakage. However, as the temperature reaches delta TI, there is a rapid increase in both fusion and leakage rates. At temperatures above TH, the liposomes show aggregation-dependent lysis, as the rapid formation of HII phase precursors disrupts the membranes. We show that the correspondence between the fusion and leakage kinetics and the observed phase behavior is easily rationalized in terms of a recent kinetic theory of L alpha/inverted phase transitions. In particular, it is likely that membrane fusion and the L alpha/inverted cubic phase transition proceed via a common set of intermembrane intermediates

  7. INVESTIGATION OF CURVES SET BY CUBIC DISTRIBUTION OF CURVATURE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. A. Ustenko

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Purpose. Further development of the geometric modeling of curvelinear contours of different objects based on the specified cubic curvature distribution and setpoints of curvature in the boundary points. Methodology. We investigate the flat section of the curvilinear contour generating under condition that cubic curvature distribution is set. Curve begins and ends at the given points, where angles of tangent slope and curvature are also determined. It was obtained the curvature equation of this curve, depending on the section length and coefficient c of cubic curvature distribution. The analysis of obtained equation was carried out. As well as, it was investigated the conditions, in which the inflection points of the curve are appearing. One should find such an interval of parameter change (depending on the input data and the section length, in order to place the inflection point of the curvature graph outside the curve section borders. It was determined the dependence of tangent slope of angle to the curve at its arbitrary point, as well as it was given the recommendations to solve a system of integral equations that allow finding the length of the curve section and the coefficient c of curvature cubic distribution. Findings. As the result of curves research, it is found that the criterion for their selection one can consider the absence of inflection points of the curvature on the observed section. Influence analysis of the parameter c on the graph of tangent slope angle to the curve showed that regardless of its value, it is provided the same rate of angle increase of tangent slope to the curve. Originality. It is improved the approach to geometric modeling of curves based on cubic curvature distribution with its given values at the boundary points by eliminating the inflection points from the observed section of curvilinear contours. Practical value. Curves obtained using the proposed method can be used for geometric modeling of curvilinear

  8. Effectiveness of cellulose sulfate vaginal gel for the prevention of HIV infection: results of a Phase III trial in Nigeria.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vera Halpern

    Full Text Available This trial evaluated the safety and effectiveness of 6% cellulose sulfate vaginal gel in preventing male-to-female vaginal transmission of HIV, gonorrhea and chlamydial infection.This Phase III, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial was conducted between November 2004 and March 2007 in Lagos and Port Harcourt, Nigeria. We enrolled 1644 HIV-antibody negative women at high risk of HIV acquisition. Study participants were randomized 1:1 to cellulose sulfate or placebo and asked to use gel plus a condom for each act of vaginal intercourse over one year of follow-up. The participants were evaluated monthly for HIV, gonorrhea and chlamydial infection, and for adverse events.The trial was stopped prematurely after the data safety monitoring board of a parallel trial concluded that cellulose sulfate might be increasing the risk of HIV. In contrast, we observed fewer infections in the active arm (10 than on placebo (13, a difference that was nonetheless not statistically significant (HR = 0.8, 95% CI 0.3-1.8; p = 0.56. Rates of gonorrhea and chlamydial infection were lower in the CS group but the difference was likewise not statistically significant (HR = 0.8, 95% CI 0.5-1.1; p = 0.19 for the combined STI outcome. Rates of adverse events were similar across study arms. No serious adverse events related to cellulose sulfate use were reported.Cellulose sulfate gel appeared to be safe in the evaluated study population but we found insufficient evidence that it prevented male-to-female vaginal transmission of HIV, gonorrhea or chlamydial infection. The early closure of the trial compromised the ability to draw definitive conclusions about the effectiveness of cellulose sulfate against HIV.ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00120770.

  9. Colloid molecular weight estimation by gel chromatography/acrylamide gel electrophoresis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liberatore, F.A.; Dearborn, C.; Nigam, S.; Poon, C.; Camin, L.; Liteplo, M.

    1984-01-01

    Size or molecular weight (MW) estimation of radiolabeled collides in aqueous solutions has long been a problem. The authors have prepared several minimicroaggregated albumin colloids (mμAA) by heat denaturation of stannous-containing HSA solutions at pH 7.0, 7.5, and 8.5). The resulting colloids were labeled with Tc-99m and compared with Au-198 colloid and Tc-99m-antimony sulfide colloid (Tc-99m-Sb/sub 2/S3) by gel chromatography and gel electrophoresis. Tc-99mm-mμAA aggregated at pH 7.0 and the Au-198 colloid appeared in the external void volume of a BioRad A5.0 agarose column indicating an apparent MW of > 5 x 10/sup 6/ daltons. The pH7.5 Tc-99m-mμAA, migrated within the filtration range of the column as did a small fraction of Tc-99m-Sb/sub 2/S/sub 3/, suggesting that the MW is between 6 x 10/sup 4/ - 5 x 10/sup 6/ daltons. The Tc-99m-mμAA, aggregated at pH 8.5, had an apparent MW on gel filtration similar to that of untreated albumin, MW 6.6 x 10-/sup 4/ daltons. The mobilities of the colloids, on acrylamide disc gel electrophoresis, were consistent with the results on gel chromatography. The largest colloids, Au-198 colloid and pH 7.0 Tc-99m-mμAA, barely entered the separating gel; intermediate sized colloids, a small fraction of Tc-99m-Sb/sub 2/S/sub 3/ and pH 7.5 Tc-99m-mμAA migrated farther into the separating gel; while pH 8.5 Tc-99m-mμAA had mobility approaching that of untreated albumin. Lymphoscintigraphy studies using these colloids in animals showed the predicted, particle size-related differences in migration and clearance. The authors conclude that gel chromatography and gel electrophoresis are useful methods for estimating the apparent size of the colloidal particles

  10. Phase transition and magnetic properties of Mg-doped hexagonal close-packed Ni nanoparticles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang Jinghai; Feng Bo; Liu Yang; Zhang Yongjun; Yang Lili; Wang Yaxin; Wei Maobin; Lang Jihui; Wang Dandan; Liu Xiaoyan

    2008-01-01

    Mg-doped Ni nanoparticles with the hexagonal close-packed (hcp) and face-centered cubic (fcc) structure have been synthesized by sol-gel method sintered at different temperatures in argon atmosphere. The sintering temperature played an important role in the control of the crystalline phase and the particle size. The pure hcp Mg-doped Ni nanoparticles with average particle size of 6.0 nm were obtained at 320 deg. C. The results indicated that the transition from the hcp to the fcc phase occurred in the temperature range between 320 deg. C and 450 deg. C. Moreover, the VSM results showed that the hcp Mg-doped Ni nanoparticles had unique ferromagnetic and superparamagnetic behavior. The unsaturation even at 5000 Oe is one of the superparamagnetic characteristics due to the small particle size. From the ZFC and FC curves, the blocking temperature T B of the hcp sample (6.0 nm) was estimated to be 10 K. The blocking temperature was related to the size of the magnetic particles and the magnetocrystalline anisotropy constant. By theoretical calculation, the deduced particle size was 6.59 nm for hcp Mg-doped Ni nanoparticles which was in agreement with the results of XRD and TEM

  11. A local cubic smoothing in an adaptation mode

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dikoussar, N.D.

    2001-01-01

    A new approach to a local curve approximation and the smoothing is proposed. The relation between curve points is defined using a special cross-ratio weight functions. The coordinates of three curve points are used as parameters for both the weight functions and the tree-point cubic model (TPS). A very simple in computing and stable to random errors cubic smoother in an adaptation mode (LOCUS) is constructed. The free parameter of TPS is estimated independently of the fixed parameters by recursion with the effective error suppression and can be controlled by the cross-ratio parameters. Efficiency and the noise stability of the algorithm are confirmed by examples and by comparison with other known non-parametric smoothers

  12. Cubic Crystal-Structured SnTe for Superior Li- and Na-Ion Battery Anodes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Ah-Ram; Park, Cheol-Min

    2017-06-27

    A cubic crystal-structured Sn-based compound, SnTe, was easily synthesized using a solid-state synthetic process to produce a better rechargeable battery, and its possible application as a Sn-based high-capacity anode material for Li-ion batteries (LIBs) and Na-ion batteries (NIBs) was investigated. The electrochemically driven phase change mechanisms of the SnTe electrodes during Li and Na insertion/extraction were thoroughly examined utilizing various ex situ analytical techniques. During Li insertion, SnTe was converted to Li 4.25 Sn and Li 2 Te; meanwhile, during Na insertion, SnTe experienced a sequential topotactic transition to Na x SnTe (x ≤ 1.5) and conversion to Na 3.75 Sn and Na 2 Te, which recombined into the original SnTe phase after full Li and Na extraction. The distinctive phase change mechanisms provided remarkable electrochemical Li- and Na-ion storage performances, such as large reversible capacities with high Coulombic efficiencies and stable cyclabilities with fast C-rate characteristics, by preparing amorphous-C-decorated nanostructured SnTe-based composites. Therefore, SnTe, with its interesting phase change mechanisms, will be a promising alternative for the oncoming generation of anode materials for LIBs and NIBs.

  13. Use of Magic polymer gels for dosimetry of unsealed source of yttrium 90

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meynard, K.; Bordage, M.C.; Cassol, E.; Courbon, F.; Ravel, P.

    2007-01-01

    Polymer gels are relative chemical dosimeters. They allow to access to three-dimensional dose distribution. The aim of this study has been to investigate the preparation and the use of a polymer gel with a tissue equivalent density known as MAGIC gel from magnetic resonance imaging and x-ray computed tomography for non-sealed source dosimetry. This kind of gel is 'normoxic' because it can be manufactured and used in normal room atmosphere. In the first part of this study, its accuracy and sensibility were studied using external beam irradiation by photons. Spin-spin relaxation rate (R 2 ) and Computed Tomography (CT) number had been used to record gel responses. Using the same manufacture process. radiolabelled gels composed of 95% MAGIC gel and 5% of 90 Y termed 90 Y-MAGIC 95 with varying activity ranged from 0 to 30 MBq were made. In case of photon external beam irradiation, a linear response is observed whatever the calibration method and the imaging system used (the correlation coefficient r 2 > 0.98 in all cases). 90 Y-MAGIC 95 radiolabelled gel responses were recorded after 28. 76 and 124 h. The R 2 /dose curves are not linear: three phases can be described. the first being linear with a slow slope (0.14 s -1 Gy -1 instead of 0.41 s -1 Gy -1 for external beam irradiation of the same gel batch). This study shows safety of radiolabelled MAGIC gels manufacturing process and their large dosimetric feasibility. 90 Y-MAGIC 95 gel response appears to be reproducible and related to the absorbed dose, thus this gel is a promising tool for non-sealed source dosimetry. (authors)

  14. Cubic Invariant Spherical Surface Harmonics in Conjunction With Diffraction Strain Pole-Figures

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brakman, C.M.

    1986-01-01

    Four kinds of cubic invariant spherical surface harmonics are introduced. It has been shown previously that these harmonics occur in the equations relating measured diffraction (line-shift) elastic strain and macro-stresses generating these strains for the case of textured cubic materials. As a

  15. Preparation, microstructure and properties of yttrium aluminum garnet fibers prepared by sol-gel method

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li Chengshun [Key Laboratory for Liquid Structure and Heredity of Materials of Ministry of Education, Shandong University, Jinan 250061 (China); Zhang Yujun [Key Laboratory for Liquid Structure and Heredity of Materials of Ministry of Education, Shandong University, Jinan 250061 (China)], E-mail: yujunzhangcn@sdu.edu.cn; Gong Hongyu; Zhang Jingde; Nie Lifang [Key Laboratory for Liquid Structure and Heredity of Materials of Ministry of Education, Shandong University, Jinan 250061 (China)

    2009-01-15

    Yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) fiber was prepared by sol-gel method using water as the solvent. The spinnable YAG sol was synthesized using Al powder, Y(CH{sub 3}COOH){sub 3}.4H{sub 2}O and HCl as precursors, polyethylene oxide as viscosity adjusting agent. Gel fibers with diameter of 5-10 {mu}m were prepared from the YAG sol by using centrifugal spinning technique. YAG crystalline fibers were obtained by drying gel fibers and heat-treating at selected temperature. TG/DTA analysis showed an exotherm at 906 deg. C attributed to formation of YAG phase and weight loss of 45% at 1000 deg. C. XRD and FT-IR analysis showed that phase-pure YAG can be formed at 900 deg. C, and no other intermediate was observed. The grain size of YAG fibers increased from 25 to 220 nm and tensile strength decreased rapidly from 970 to 380 MPa when the sintering temperature increased from 900 to 1550 deg. C.

  16. MICROSTRUCTURE CHARACTERISTIC OF ALUMINUM TITANATE SYNTHESIED BY BOTH SOLID- STATE AND SOL-GEL PROCESSES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Khosravi Saghezchi

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available A comparing study on formation and microstructure features of aluminum titanate is investigated through both solid-state and sol-gel processes. Aluminum titanate formed by firing at 1350ºC and 1450ºC for 4h in solid-state process. In the sol-gel process formation of submicron sized particles is followed by addition of sucrose into the transparent sol. XRD analysis was confirmed the formation of aluminum titanate at 1400ºC  in lower duration of calcination (3h without any additives in the sol-gel process. In this work 2wt% MgO is added to the samples as the additive for forming acceleration of aluminum titanate. The influence of MgO addition and heat treatment are studied on phase formation and microstructure development of aluminum titanate in both procedures. Additive optimizes aluminum titanate formation at lower temperatures (1300-1350ºC. Phase and microstructure studies of Mg containing samples optimally show significance in aluminum titanate formation.

  17. Carbon-covered Fe_3O_4 hollow cubic hierarchical porous composite as the anode material for lithium-ion batteries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Shouhui; Zhou, Rihui; Chen, Yaqin; Fu, Yuanyuan; Li, Ping; Song, Yonghai; Wang, Li

    2017-01-01

    In this work, Prussian blue nanocrystals, a kind of cubic metal-organic frameworks, was firstly covered by a uniform layer of resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF) resin, and then followed with heat treatment at different pyrolysis temperatures. The effects of pyrolysis temperature on the morphologies, phase, pore size, and electrochemical performance of the pyrolysis products were studied in this work. The composite generated at 600 "∘C, FexC600, was a hollow cubic composite of Fe_3O_4 covered by a thin RF-derived carbon layer. The carbon layer on FexC600 was a robust and conductive protective layer, which can accommodate Fe_3O_4 NPs and withstand the huge volume change of Fe_3O_4 during the process of discharge and charge. When used as anodes for lithium-ion batteries, FexC600 showed excellent electrochemical performance. It delivered a discharge capacity of 1126 mAh g"−"1 with a coulombic efficiency of 98.8% at the current density of 100 mA g"−"1 after 100 times discharge/charge cycling. It even delivered a capacity of 492 mAh g"−"1 at the current density of 500 mA g"−"1. This cubic hollow composite would be a promising alternative anode material for lithium-ion batteries.

  18. The influence of p H and UV visible absorption on hydrolysis stage and gel behavior of glasses synthesized by sol-gel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khosravi Saghezchi, M.; Sarpoolaky, H.; Heshmatpour, F.

    2008-01-01

    Lead-containing glass borosilicate was synthesized by Sol-gel technique using metal alkoxide such as tetra ethyleorthosilicate, Al-sec-butoxide and trimethyl borate. The sol containing tetra ethyle ortho silicate converts to gel during drop wise addition of Al-alkoxide while inorganic lead salt was added in the last stage of gelation to prepare the alcogels. The specimens were dried at room temperature to set then heated at 600 d eg C quickly to avoid crystallization preparing a glass containing 63 weight percent lead oxide. The influence of p H on absorption behavior of the sols studied by UV visible technique so the characteristic of the gel, alcogel and xerogel were studied in the different acidic concentrations. The UV spectrums show that the higher the acidity of the hydrolysis stages, the higher the absorbance. The results showed the sample with 63 weight percent lead was found fully amorphous. Microstructure and phase analysis of the glass powders were investigated by X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence and scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy dispersive spectroscopy analysis

  19. Characterisation of a new alkoxide sol-gel hydroxyapatite

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Green, D.D.; Kannangara, G.S.K.; Milev, A.; Ben-Nissan, B.

    1999-01-01

    Hydroxyapatite (HAp) coatings have been used to promote bone growth and fixation towards implant surfaces to encourage faster recovery times for the recipient. Current coating processing techniques, capable of producing thin HAp layers are pulsed-laser deposition and sputtering (high-temperature processing). Other technologies are in vitro methods, electrodeposition and sol-gel, due to the fact that these techniques utilise lower processing temperatures they avoid structural instabilities of HAp at elevated temperatures. The term sol-gel encompasses any process of producing ceramic materials (single and mixed oxides, as well as non-oxides e.g. nitrides) from solutions. The sol-gel process was first identified by Ebelman, and has been used to produce ceramic powders, coatings, and bulk materials including glasses. The implementation of a sol-gel methodology enables increased stoichiometry and homogeneity, while having the ability to coat complex shapes. Sol-gel hydroxyapatite reported by Chai et al. employed tri ethyl phosphite [ P(OEt) 3 ] as the staring phosphorus alkoxide precursor, whereby it was established that in order to obtain monophasic hydroxyapatite upon firing there must be a 24 hour ripening period. The ripening period was determined to be an equilibrium step whereby the equilibrium intermediate phase lied in favour of a diethyl phosphite arrangement (species) within the sol. Therefore, the work here under taken was to produce hydroxyapatite using diethyl phosphite [HOP(OEt) 2 ] as a starting alkoxide precursor with a final aim to reduce or eliminate the ageing period as observed by Chai et al in P(OEt) 3 solutions

  20. Solid solubility, phase transitions, thermal expansion, and compressibility in Sc{sub 1−x}Al{sub x}F{sub 3}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Morelock, Cody R.; Gallington, Leighanne C. [School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0400 (United States); Wilkinson, Angus P., E-mail: angus.wilkinson@chemistry.gatech.edu [School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0400 (United States); School of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0245 (United States)

    2015-02-15

    With the goal of thermal expansion control, the synthesis and properties of Sc{sub 1−x}Al{sub x}F{sub 3} were investigated. The solubility limit of AlF{sub 3} in ScF{sub 3} at ∼1340 K is ∼50%. Solid solutions (x≤0.50) were characterized by synchrotron powder diffraction at ambient pressure between 100 and 900 K and at pressures <0.414 GPa while heating from 298 to 523 K. A phase transition from cubic to rhombohedral is observed. The transition temperature increases smoothly with Al{sup 3+} content, approaching 500 K at the solid solubility limit, and also upon compression at fixed Al{sup 3+} content. The slope of the pressure–temperature phase boundary is ∼0.5 K MPa{sup −1}, which is steep relative to that for most symmetry-lowering phase transitions in perovskites. The volume coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) for the rhombohedral phase is strongly positive, but the cubic-phase CTE varies from negative (x<0.15) to near-zero (x=0.15) to positive (x>0.20) between ∼600 and 800 K. The cubic solid solutions elastically stiffen on heating, while Al{sup 3+} substitution causes softening at a given temperature. - Graphical abstract: The cubic-phase coefficient of thermal expansion for Sc{sub 1−x}Al{sub x}F{sub 3}(solubility limit ∼50% at ∼1340 K) becomes more positive with increased Al{sup 3+} substitution, but the average isothermal bulk modulus decreases (elastic softening). - Highlights: • The solubility limit of AlF{sub 3} in ScF{sub 3} at ∼1340 K is ∼50%. • The phase transition temperature of Sc{sub 1−x}Al{sub x}F{sub 3} increases smoothly with x. • The cubic-phase volume CTE varies from negative to positive with increasing x. • The cubic solid solutions elastically stiffen on heating. • Al{sup 3+} substitution causes softening at a given temperature.